Gill had a chat with chief curator after the pitch inspection.
Ahead of the first Test against South Africa, India captain Shubman Gill and the team management are reportedly unhappy with the pitch in Kolkata. A few reports initially suggested that it would be a slow pitch, with spin and reverse swing playing a role, but the think tank expected something different.
According to a PTI report, Gill and the bowling coach, Morne Morkel, went to inspect the pitch’s firmness and were not entirely pleased with its looks, which initiated a discussion with the curator, Sujan Mukherjee. Gill had a 15-minute chat with Sujan, talking about the thought process behind this surface for the Test.
The pitch had been left unwatered for the past week, so it looked dry and brown, with a few patches of grass here and there. Maybe India expected something else from the pitch, even though it’s unconfirmed what the point of discussion was.
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The pitch curator at Eden Gardens has been in controversy regarding the nature of the pitch, even before Ajinkya Rahane called him out during IPL 2025, saying the track didn’t assist his spinners as much as he would have liked. He didn’t delve much into the chat, but his words clearly showed the rift between the team and the chief curator.
Following the displeasure from India, the newly appointed president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), Sourav Ganguly, personally checked the surface. He chatted with Sujan on the preparation and later confirmed that India didn’t request rank turners.
The main pitch was left dry, while the adjoining squares were watered a couple of days before the game. During the press conference earlier today, Shubman Gill pointed out that the pitch looked different yesterday, and it’s different again today, which can be a hint at the displeasure with the track and curator.
“More or less, we have finalised it (playing XI). But when we came yesterday, the wicket looked different. Today, it is once again different. So, tomorrow, we will take a final look at the pitch before deciding.”
During this season’s Ranji Trophy fixtures, the pacers have struggled to pick wickets at the start with the new ball before making an impact with the old ball when reverse swing starts. That’s how the pitch is expected to behave even in the first Test against South Africa, as India look to negate the opposition’s pace-bowling threat and earn crucial World Test Championship (WTC) points.
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