After claiming that the Eden Gardens surface was not benefiting the local team, the Kolkata Knight Riders, the Cricket Association of Bengal wrote a letter requesting that Harsha Bhogle and Simon Doull of New Zealand be taken from the commentary panel for games in Kolkata.
Renowned commentator Harsha Bhogle has denied rumors that he was barred from Monday’s IPL match between the Gujarat Titans and Kolkata Knight Riders because of a complaint from the Bengal Cricket Association, stating that he was only sent out for the two games in Kolkata, which are already done. His explanation was made one day after media reports made public the letter that the CAB’s secretary, Naresh Ojha, had submitted to the BCCI approximately ten days prior. In the letter, the committee requested that Bhogle and Simon Doull of New Zealand be taken off the commentary panel for games in Kolkata because they claimed that the Eden Gardens surface was not benefiting the local team, the Kolkata Knight Riders.
“Some unsuitable inferences are being made regarding my absence from yesterday’s game in Kolkata. Simply put, it wasn’t anything I was interested in doing. On ‘X’, Bhogle posted.
“The problem would have been fixed if you had asked me. Before the event begins, the rosters are completed. In Kolkata, I was listed for two games. Without mentioning the games, he continued, “I was there for the first and was unable to attend the second due to a family illness.”
Some unsuitable inferences are being made regarding my absence from yesterday’s game in Kolkata. Simply put, it wasn’t anything I was interested in doing! The problem would have been solved if you had asked me. Before the event begins, the rosters are completed. I was listed on two rosters.At the Eden Gardens on Monday, KKR lost by 39 runs to the Gujarat Titans.
Both head coach Chandrakant Pandit and KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane have voiced their displeasure at not being provided a track that complements their offense, which consists of Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, and Moeen Ali, and have called for a more spin-friendly track at the site.
After the CAB threw its weight behind curator Sujan Mukherjee, Doull had urged that KKR should look for a different base given that Mukherjee was not matching the team’s standards.
Additionally, Bhogle had said that KKR was entitled to the home field advantage.
