Controversy begins at Kolkata Knight Riders camp even before their start to the campaign. As Eden Gardens pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee refuses to curate the pitch to suit the home side.
“There is no question of favouring the home team. I said it last year, and I am repeating it: nowhere in the IPL rules is it stated that pitches should favour the home team. It depends on the curator,” said Mukherjee to Sports Now.
Since last year the pitch at Eden Gardens has been a bit different with grass cover which provided increased bounce and pace. The wickets in Kolkata earlier were known for their slow nature. “The wickets that I prepare will offer good bounce with little spin, and the batter will also enjoy playing here. The public will also want a pitch that offers something for everyone” added Mukherjee.
Nitish Rana, who was leading KKR last year in the absence of permanent captain Shreyas Iyer, expressed his disappointment with the pitches at Eden Gardens.
“Every team enjoys home advantage except KKR,” Rana said in a post-match presentation. It might have been the case for them as they were only able to secure two wins out of their seven home games.
Pitches tend to vary from place to place, and some pitches are curated to provide an edge to the home side. The pitch in the Eden Gardens generally carries a bit of bounce which is good for batting and as the pitch gets old, spinners get into action.
The combination of the KKR squad this term suggests a slow and spinning track will bring the best out of their players. KKR has always been a spin-heavy side, looking back at KKR’s success in 2012 and 2014 was also because of having good spinners like Piyush Chawla, Sakib Hussain & Sunil Narine in their side. But this season with the arrival of marquee pacer Mitchell Starc for Rs. 24.75 crore, the dynamics of the playing XI of KKR might change.
Looking at the stats from the previous season, they were the only team to have more overs of spin than pace, and playing on a slow track brought out their best game. The likes of Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy and Suyash Sharma could be pivotal for them if the pitches have turn in it. KKR will be hoping Gambhir’s return to the side in a new mentorship role will bring back the glories he had brought them as their captain previously. And return of captain Shreyas Iyer after missing out on last season’s IPL due to injury, would further solidify their chances of clinching their third title.