Following Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) narrow four-run defeat against Lucknow Super Giants in their IPL 2025 clash, captain Ajinkya Rahane chose not to escalate the ongoing controversy surrounding the pitch at Eden Gardens. He said that the Eden Gardens' pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee, had already drawn enough attention to the issue and that he preferred not to add to it with any strong statements.
The controversy surrounding the Eden Gardens pitch originated from KKR's apparent dissatisfaction with curator Sujan Mukherjee's decision not to prepare spin-friendly wickets, especially for their opening match of the season against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. However, curator Sujan Mukherjee defended his approach, referencing the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) guidelines, which explicitly state that pitch preparation falls solely under the jurisdiction of the chief curator and not the franchise teams.
Ajinkya Rahane's massive remark on Kolkata pitch controversy
Talking about the match, Kolkata Knight Riders' recent match at Eden Gardens against Lucknow Super Giants turned out to be a high-scoring contest, with Lucknow posting a colossal total of 238/3. Kolkata mounted a strong chase, coming close but ultimately falling short by just four runs. During their chase of the formidable target set by LSG, KKR rode on Ajinkya Rahane's captain's knock, who scored a well-paced 61 runs. In the later stages, Rinku Singh provided a late surge with a quickfire 38 runs off just 15 balls. However, their combined efforts ultimately fell short, and they were unable to carry KKR across the finish line for a win.
Given the pitch's continued tendency not to heavily favor bowlers, the KKR captain was prompted to share his perspective on the ongoing issues surrounding pitch preparation. Visibly surprised by the question, Rahane initially offered a smile before shirking away from a direct response. However, he did manage to subtly direct a pointed remark towards curator Sujan Mukherjee.
“There have been enough talks over the wicket here. Main kuch bolunga to bawaal ho jayega (If I say anything, it’ll be a big controversy). Our curator has already gotten a lot of publicity and I think he is happy with that publicity. I’ll not say anything around the wicket here and will say it to the IPL and the concerned authorities,” Rahane said at the post-match press conference.
Following their defeat against LSG, KKR have slipped to the 6th position on the IPL 2025 points table. They currently have a total of 4 points after playing 5 games in the tournament.
LSG will next face Gujarat Titans on April 12, while KKR will take on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on April 11.