Eden Gardens pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee dismissed Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane’s appeal for a pitch that would favor spin bowling. Following their significant seven-wicket defeat in the IPL 2025 season opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Rahane expressed a desire for a pitch that would better accommodate his team's strengths.

However, Mukherjee, who has overseen the Eden Gardens turf for nearly ten years, firmly rejected Rahane’s request. In an interview with RevSportz, he made it clear that there would be no alterations to the pitch to meet KKR's needs.

“As long as I’m here, the pitch at Eden Gardens will remain unchanged,” Mukherjee asserted. He has held the position of head curator since being appointed by former CAB president Sourav Ganguly in October 2015.

“According to IPL regulations, franchises do not have any influence over the pitch. Since I took over, the pitches have maintained this consistency,” Mukherjee explained. “This has been the case in the past, it remains the same now, and it will not be modified in the future.”

In the aftermath of KKR’s opening match loss, new captain Rahane remarked in the post-match interview: “We would appreciate a pitch that assists spin bowlers, but this wicket was covered for the last one-and-a-half days.”

‘What did the KKR spinners do?’: Mukherjee bashes Narine, Varun

Anticyclonic conditions in the Bay of Bengal resulted in significant rainfall in Kolkata and its neighboring regions prior to Saturday's match. Despite the weather, the match proceeded as scheduled, but KKR's score of 174 was successfully chased down by RCB with 22 balls remaining.

Rahane emphasized that KKR's key strength lies in their spin duo, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy. He stated, “Both of our spinners possess the quality to perform well on any type of pitch, and I am confident in their abilities.”

In response, Mukherjee contested this viewpoint, highlighting the favorable conditions for spinners as evidenced by RCB's bowling performance. 

“Their spinners (RCB) claimed four wickets collectively,” Mukherjee pointed out. “What impact did the KKR spinners have? Krunal Pandya took three wickets, and Suyash Sharma managed to bowl out Andre Russell.”

The defending champions KKR have begun their season on an unfavorable note and now find themselves at odds with the curator of their home ground. Mukherjee, who revamped the Eden Gardens pitches upon his appointment, appears resolute in his stance against accommodating the IPL franchise.

KKR's upcoming match will see them travel to Guwahati to face the Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday.

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