Taking a strong exception to public criticism of their curator by Harsha Bhogle and Simon Doull, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has red-flagged the two cricket experts and requested the BCCI not to assign them commentary duty for Kolkata Knight Riders’ home matches. Bhogle and Doull got embroiled in the controversy when the former New Zealand cricketer opined that KKR should relocate their franchisee if the curator was not paying any heed to the team’s request for spin-friendly tracks while Bhogle said the team should get the home advantage.
This was during a panel discussion on a popular website after KKR lost two of their first three home games.
Infuriated by their comments, CAB secretary Naresh Ojha wrote to the BCCI nearly 10 days ago, requesting the removal of Bhogle and Doull from the commentary panel for their home games.
Interestingly, neither Bhogle nor Doull was on commentary duty during Monday’s game between KKR and Gujarat Titans.
However, sources close to Bhogle said the renowned commentator was not slotted for any KKR game. It could not be confirmed if the commentary roster was set before or after CAB’s formal complaint.
“Bhogle and Doull are no longer part of the IPL commentary team for KKR’s home matches. However, the situation might change when Eden hosts the Qualifier 2 and the Final on May 23 and 25,” a CAB official told PTI.
Ojha and CAB president Snehasish Ganguly were not available for comment. Both KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane and head coach Chandrakant Pandit had expressed disappointment over not getting the expected spin-friendly conditions.
