Ajinkya Rahane startled by pitch question at toss amid Eden curator row: 'At home, you should get what you want...'
Kolkata Knight Riders made just one change for the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad—Moeen Ali replaced Spencer Johnson. The visitors remained unchanged.
Captains are often asked about their assessment of the pitch after the toss, irrespective of what the coin decides. Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane faced a similar on Thursday during the IPL 2025 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. But with the question being wrapped in reference to KKR's ongoing row with the Eden curator over the home tract, Rahane was left startled.
When former English cricketer Nick Knight asked Rahane if he was happy with the pitch amid all the talk, the skipper was surprised by the question. He stopped briefly before smiling to admit that the team got what they wanted.
"Looks good, I'm really happy with the pitch, we were also bowling first. It will suit our spinners, at home, you should get what you want, but we'll need to assess the situation quickly with the bat," he said after KKR were put to bat first at home.
KKR management was unhappy with Eden Gardens curator Sujan Mukherjee refusing to provide a pitch that would aid their spinners in the season opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru last month. Mukherjee was subject to criticism, with many experts advising KKR to find a new home, but the curator reiterated the BCCI guidelines, saying that IPL teams and players should not have a say in pitch preparations.
"As per the BCCI guidelines, it is clearly mentioned that the pitch and ground preparation for all IPL regular season matches is the responsibility of the chief curator of the host association under the guidance from the BCCI-appointed venue curator, and they will be the sole decision-maker regarding the nomination of practice and match pitches, as is the case for first-class matches in India. It is also instructed that the franchises and players shall not have any say in the preparation of the wicket. The BCCI chief curator is available to give any advice that is required and will also be able to intervene if any issues arise," he told RevSportz earlier this week.
However, Mukherjee said he was ready to talk with Rahane and the rest of the KKR management ahead of the match against SRH.
"Everyone is welcome to me. Even the association is always willing to help. There has always been a good rapport between the state association (CAB) and the franchise. The KKR management also has a fair idea about the wicket and conditions on offer at Eden over the last few seasons since I took charge. Once the team returns from Mumbai, surely, we can have a discussion and I will see what best I can do," he said.
KKR make one change
Kolkata made just one change for the game against Sunrisers—Moeen Ali replaced Spencer Johnson. The visitors, however, remained unchanged.
Teams:
Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Aniket Verma, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Kamindu Mendis, Pat Cummins(c), Harshal Patel, Simarjeet Singh, Mohammed Shami, Zeeshan Ansari
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Moeen Ali, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy
