BCCI sends new curator to oversee Eden pitch

He might not be getting the desired results when it comes to matches, but India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni definitely gets his way when it comes to the type of pitch he wants to play on.

Dhoni had made it clear that he wanted a turning track at the Eden Gardens for the third Test and when curator Prabir Mukherjee refused to act according to the captain’s whims, was sidelined by the Board of Control for Cricket in India ( BCCI) on Wednesday.

BCCI directed East Zone curator Ashish Bhowmick to oversee the preparation of the Eden wicket and told Mukherjee to work under him.

Explaining the situation, a senior Cricket Association of Bengal ( CAB) official said that is generally not uncommon to have someone from the board to come and assist the curator the venue, but the case was different this time round.

Bhowmick will oversee the preparation of the wicket and Mukherjee will be assisting him. Generally, it is the other way round when the centre curator is helped by a curator from the board.

But this is what the BCCI wanted and the CAB has to abide by it,” he told MAIL TODAY . Mukherjee was at his sarcastic best when he ridiculed the decision to send Bhowmick — who junior to him in experience.

I will not speak on what the board has done.am fine with his arrival. He is a junior and wants to be with me during the match. We share good rapport from many years. The working relationship will be different. Now he will be my boss. He is coming from the board so he is my boss. I know the job better but he is my boss.

But I am answerable to the president of CAB, as is my boss, not BCCI,” he said.

Mukherjee, who has been in charge of the Eden square since 1985, made it clear that he wasn’t in a position to abide by Dhoni’s demand a square turner.

What if I ask for something that is not possible? How do you expect that the Eden wicket will be like the Mumbai wicket? If you want something like that, you don’t know what you are asking for,” he said.

Although Dhoni had an altercation with Mukherjee when India played England in a One- Day International at the same venue last year — Dhoni going to the extent of calling the wicket ugly’ — India have always done well at the venue. When India played a Test match at the Eden Gardens last year, they beat the West Indies in four days, with the wicket taking turn from the third day.

The first two days had helped pacers as well as stroke- makers.

Also read: 

• Eden curator slams Dhoni
• Column: India turned themselves in
• Despite loss, MSD likes Mumbai track

MUKHERJEE has always prepared quality Test wickets and chief of the BCCI ground and pitches committee Daljit Singh had vouched for the same.

Over the last decade, I think has done a great job. If I can remember correctly, he has always prepared sporting wickets which have been result- oriented and not once have we seen a dull day’s encounter at Eden Gardens. After all he know the conditions — both and climatic conditions — best in Kolkata,” Daljit had told M AIL T ODAY . But suddenly it looks as though Daljit too feels that Mukherjee isn’t the right person the job as BCCI spokesperson Rajeev Shukla made it clear that the decision to get Bhowmick to oversee pitch preparations at the Eden Gardens was the ground and pitches committee’s call.

All the curators work independently.

wrong No advice and BCCI matter,” Former Shyam shameful concentrate not “ Dhoni bigger to be and concentrate rather independently.

This is absolutely wrong ( that Dhoni had a role).

decisions are taken on the advice of anyone. The ground and pitches committee of the BCCI took the decision in this matter,” Shukla said.

Former Delhi curator Radhey Shyam feels that the situation is shameful and Dhoni should concentrate on his own game and on how the pitch behaves.

Dhoni seems to have become bigger than the game. He seems be running the show both on off the field. I feel he should concentrate on his own game rather than taking calls on how a pitch should be made.

“Captains have often wanted pitches according to their strengths, but none have been so shamefully blatant. Also, what did Dhoni achieve with a turning track in Mumbai? He ended up losing the game,” he told Mail Today.

Former skipper Sourav Ganguly summed up the situation perfectly when he confessed that even he had failed to have his way with Mukherjee, so it was unlikely that Dhoni could.

Ganguly’s confession makes it clear why BCCI decided to fly Bhowmick into Kolkata.