Eden Gardens pitch curator sidelined after he refuses to prepare spin track
Ashish Bhowmick of the Tripura Cricket Association, who is also a member of the BCCI's Pitches Committee, has been asked by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to work with the veteran curator at the Eden Gardens, who has prepared pitches for 14 Tests in the past.
- NDTVSports
- Updated: November 28, 2012 07:31 PM IST
Prabir Mukherjee, the pitch curator at Kolkata's Eden Gardens, has been sidelined after he refused to prepare a rank turner for the third Test against England, as requested by Indian captain MS Dhoni.
Ashish Bhowmick of the Tripura Cricket Association, who is also a member of the BCCI's Pitches Committee, has been asked by the BCCI to work with the veteran curator, who has prepared pitches for 14 Tests in the past.
"You are advised to proceed to Kolkata and work with the curator in charge, CAB, to prepare the ground and pitch for the December 5 match," wrote Daljit Singh, Chairman, Ground and Pitches Committee, BCCI.
Dhoni had first asked for a rank turner for the Mumbai Test, which England won by 10 wickets. He then said he wanted the same kind of track in Kolkata, where the third Test starts on December 5.
"We want a similar track as that's where our specialty is. What's the point playing on flat tracks and trying to win the toss and just batting for 3 or 4 days," Dhoni had said after the defeat in Mumbai.
It seems Mukherjee's stand that he cannot overnight change the nature of the Eden pitch, which is slow and has very less bounce, invited the ire of the Indian Cricket Board. (Also read: Mukherjee admits being sidelined)
Although the CAB is rubbishing the reports of Mukherjee's replacement, the BCCI has very evidently snubbed the curator who has been preparing pitches for 14 years at the Eden Gardens.
The 4-Test series between India and England is tied at 1-1.