Harsha Bhogle Addresses Commentary Speculation for IPL Match
Clarification from Harsha Bhogle
Renowned commentator Harsha Bhogle has dismissed rumors suggesting he was excluded from the commentary team for the IPL clash between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Gujarat Titans (GT) at Eden Gardens on Monday due to a complaint from the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB). He clarified that he was only scheduled for two matches in Kolkata, both of which have already taken place.
This statement follows the emergence of a letter from the CAB to the BCCI, sent approximately ten days prior by secretary Naresh Ojha, which requested the removal of Bhogle and New Zealand's Simon Doull from the Kolkata matches. This complaint arose after both commentators criticized the Eden Gardens pitch for not favoring the local team, KKR.
Bhogle took to X to express, "There are some inappropriate conclusions being drawn about why I wasn’t at yesterday’s game in Kolkata. Quite simply, it wasn’t on the list of matches I was down to do! Asking me would have resolved the issue. Rosters are done before the tournament starts. I was rostered for two games in Kolkata. I was there for the first and an illness in the family prevented me from being at the second," without detailing which matches he was referencing.
There are some inappropriate conclusions being drawn about why I wasn’t at yesterday’s game in Kolkata. Quite simply, it wasn’t on the list of matches I was down to do! Asking me would have resolved the issue. Rosters are done before the tournament starts. I was rostered for two…
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 22, 2025
In the match, KKR faced GT and suffered a defeat by 39 runs. Following the game, KKR's captain Ajinkya Rahane and head coach Chandrakant Pandit expressed their desire for a pitch more conducive to spin bowling, voicing their disappointment over the lack of a surface that would benefit their spin attack, which includes Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, and Moeen Ali.
After the CAB supported curator Sujan Mukherjee, Doull suggested that KKR might need to consider a new home ground, as Mukherjee was not meeting the team's pitch requirements. Bhogle had also remarked that KKR should have the advantage of playing at home.