In another pitch controversy surrounding the India-England Test series, the BCCI asked the Cricket Association of Bengal to appoint East Zone curator Ashish Bhowmick to prepare the Eden track in place of veteran Prabir Mukherjee. Mukherjee has been in charge of the historic Eden Gardens pitch for decades, says a report in The Indian Express.
“Mukherjee, who looks after the Eden strip, has been sidelined due to his differences with Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who insisted for rank turners from day one of the Kolkata Test against England, starting December 5,” says the report.
"He is going there as per BCCI's instruction. But I've no idea whether he has replaced the local curator there. I'm not aware of the details," TCA secretary Arindam Ganguly said.
"It's a routine visit to assess the pitch and conditions which happens every time before a match. Prabir Mukherjee remains the Eden curator," Sujan Mukherjee, CAB joint-secretary.
Meanwhile, The Asian Age reports that BCCI’s move has raised many eyebrows.
“Daljit Singh, chairman of the BCCI ground and pitches committee, had surveyed the pitch on Sunday.
Senior BCCI official Rajiv Shukla said the decision to send Bhowmick to Kolkata was taken by the board’s ground and pitch committee, and Dhoni had nothing to do with it,” says the report.