“BCCI curators took over the pitch”- CAB president Sourav Ganguly sidelines himself from Kolkata controversy

Sourav Ganguly, former India captain and current head of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), has distanced himself from the Eden Gardens pitch dispute, claiming that curators chosen by the BCCI took over the surface four days before the India-South Africa Test.

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South Africa won the Kolkata Test after two and a half days, giving them a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. India failed to chase 124 and collapsed for 93, the first time they have been bowled out for less than 100 runs in the fourth innings in a Test.

Despite the Kolkata pitch producing turn and irregular bounce from day one of the Test, India head coach Gautam Gambhir stated that the surface had no demons and instead the batters were not up to standard with their tactics on a demanding pitch.

Ganguly made it plain that the CAB had no direct participation in preparing the final test surface once the board's crew arrived.

"No, no, I don't get involved at all. Curators from the BCCI come and take over the wickets four days before the Test match. We have our own curator (Sujan Mukherjee) as well, who's done exceptionally well for a long time. The requests are made, and you keep the requests. That's what it is,” Ganguly told India Today.

Sourav Ganguly was not hesitant to acknowledge that India's batting performance was hampered by the poor quality of the Eden Gardens surface.

"It was not the greatest, I'll have to completely admit, and I think the top-order batting and the middle-order batting, you know, deserve a better cricketing surface. It was a full house at Eden Gardens for those three days, and I completely believe that Gautam Gambhir and his team in India must play on much better wickets than what they played at Eden Gardens," he said.

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Sujan Mukherjee, curator of Eden Gardens, said he simply carried out the directives from the Indian team management lead by Gautam Gambhir.

"Sometimes it is beyond our control, and we try to keep the request of the team and the coach and the captain. And that is what we do, so that's what it is. And you've heard Gautam Gambhir say after the game that he wanted that sort of a pitch and was given that sort of a pitch. So you keep the captain's and the coach's request," he said.

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