Nitish Rana, the captain of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), has expressed his disappointment with the Eden Garden wicket curators. Rana said openly that KKR was the only team who did not have home advantage. The head curator of the Stadium has reacted to Rana’s comments, saying that they are not obliged to make wickets that favour the home team.
Sujan Mukherjee raised concerns about Rana’s remarks. He asked if the Indian Premier League Rule Book contained a clause that made it mandatory for teams to produce pitches that benefited them. Nitish Rana was also answered by the Eden Gardens head curator, who explained why they were unable to produce tracks that are slow and turn.
Mukherjee said, “IPL does not play on home advantage and the captain can say whatever he wants.” The Indian Express quoted Mukherjee as saying. Does IPL have a clause that stipulates pitches must be made according to the franchise’s wishes?
The pitch curator said, “There are many problems that I can’t talk about and changing the pitch at KKR will not be easy.” Look at the other IPL teams like RCB or DC. They don’t complain about their home advantage. Mukherjee said that they play with what is available to them ,”.
KKR’s spin-friendly pitches are hurting them
Eden Gardens’ pitch was designed to help spinners until a few short years ago. It has changed in recent years. Eden Gardens’ track is known for its flatness and abundance of runs, both in the IPL as well as domestic cricket. Its greenish tint helps pacers. The surface is more helpful to pacers even during Ranji season.
KKR’s spin-dominated bowling attack features the likes Sunil Narine and Suyash sharma at the top of the chart. KKR has struggled at home to dominate their opponents due to non-spin friendly pitches. Nitish Rana’s side has lost four of the six matches they have played at Eden Gardens. It will be interesting to watch how the two-time champs perform in a game that they must win at Eden Gardens.
