KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane finds himself at odds with Eden Gardens pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee, as he refused to change the playing surface in Kolkata. Eden Gardens pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee shut down Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane’s request for the pitch to support more spin. In the wake of their heavy seven-wicket loss in the IPL 2025 opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Ajinkya Rahane asked for a pitch that would support his team better.
Eden Garden pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee has hit back at KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane who asked for more help for the spinners. Mukherjee stated that no franchise has a say on how the pitch should be curated and under his watch, the surface won’t change in IPL 2025 season.
Ajinkya Rahane Shines With Bat As KKR Captain but his team lost to RCB by 7 wickets
Ajinkya Rahane shut his critics up in a scintillating 25-ball half-century in KKR’s IPL 2025 opener against RCB at Eden Gardens. After Quinton de Kock fell early, Rahane counter-attacked, smashing Rasikh Salam for 16 runs in an over before dismantling Krunal Pandya and Yash Dayal.
His attacking intent set the tone for KKR, adding a 100-run partnership with Sunil Narine. Rahane’s swashbuckling 56 off 31 balls also received appreciation from Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan.
Defending champions KKR started their IPL 2025 season with a big seven-wicket defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at home. New skipper Rahane top-scored with a 56 (31) at number three but the rest of the batting lineup faltered and the team stumbled to a quite sub-par 174/8. RCB barely gave the hosts any chance in the chase, shooting down the target in 16.2 overs led by Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 59 (36).
Eden Garden pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee has hit back at KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane who asked for more help for the spinners. Mukherjee stated that no franchise has a say on how the pitch should be curated and under his watch, the surface won’t change in IPL 2025 season.
KKR, the defending champions, suffered a disappointing defeat in their IPL 2025 opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Thanks to explosive half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Phil Salt, RCB chased down a 175-run total in 16.2 overs. Despite having two of the best spinners in the league, Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine, KKR failed to put pressure on RCB’s batters. Both failed to trouble the batters and picked up one wicket each.
Eden Gardens pitch will not change- Eden Gardens Pitch Curator
Eden Gardens pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee has vehemently rejected Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Ajinkya Rahane‘s subtle plea for more spin-friendly tracks at the stadium in IPL 2025. Mukherjee cited IPL’s rules to say that the franchises have ‘no say’ over the pitch conditions while also targeting KKR’s spinners for not being good enough to utilize the 22 yards well enough.
“As long as I’m here, Eden Gardens pitch will not change,” Mukherjee told Revsportz.
“As per the IPL rules and regulations, franchises have no say over the pitch. Ever since I have taken charge (as Eden curator), the pitches here have been like this. It was like this in the past. Things haven’t changed now, and it will not be altered in the future. Their (RCB) spinners took four wickets between them,” he stated.
“What did the KKR spinners do? Krunal Pandya got three wickets. Suyash Sharma turned the ball to castle Andre Russell,” he added.
In the post-match conference after the defeat, Ajinkya Rahane had said:
“We would love to see the pitch helping the spin bowlers but again, this wicket was undercover for the last one-and-a-half days. Both the spinners we have, the quality they have, they can bowl in any kind of wicket and I am sure they are confident as well.”
This is the second time in recent years a KKR captain has been seen at loggerheads with the pitch curator. In 2023, Nitish Rana, who was standing-in for the injured Shreyas Iyer had said that every IPL franchise had home advantage except for KKR — whose identity was choking oppositions with spinners.
“I think every team has a home advantage except KKR. We play on good pitches and score 200 and 200+ runs and on the other day, we play on slower pitches, and the scores are low. I think this shows the real quality of the batter to adjust to all the conditions,” he had said.
Defending champions KKR start their season off on a sour note, and now stand at odds with the curator of their home ground. Mukherjee redeveloped the Eden Gardens pitches when he took charge, and seems steadfast in his approach to not bending for the IPL franchise. KKR’s next game will see them take to the road, as they head to Guwahati to play Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday.