Subhayan Chakraborty in Mumbai
Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Chandrakant Pandit, on Sunday, continued the debate over whether pitches should favour the home franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after Eden Gardens head curator Sujan Mukherjee triggered a controversy by sticking to the rule books and preparing neutral tracks for KKR. That was followed by Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming expressing his displeasure over the failure to read the Chepauk pitch over the last couple of seasons.
“As a coach, as a team management, we always, you know, whatever the surface has been provided to us, we play,” Pandit said in the pre-match press conference at the Wankhede Stadium. “The control, of course, will be under the curator. At this moment, my focus is definitely going to be in the next game tomorrow which we are playing. So, at the moment, I am definitely not thinking about what has to be done, what is in whose control. But, let us focus on tomorrow’s game which is very crucial for us. Who will not be happy about that (home advantage)?”
Pandit further continued: “Probably that they (other home teams) have a control of preparing the wickets as well. I mean, ultimately, I don’t know what the system is in the different states or different grounds where the control is over the franchise. But, at the moment, what I understand is the surface which is given to us, probably, of course, as a team management, as a coach, as a captain, probably we expect something to, you know, to be provided. So, that’s all.”
The KKR head coach provided an update on Sunil Narine’s fitness after the Caribbean all-rounder missed the match against Rajasthan Royals due to illness. Narine is back at the nets. “Well, Sunil is 100 per cent fit,” said Pandit. “He has definitely recovered well and he has been practicing since yesterday. Today, he is practicing as well. So, he is absolutely fine at the moment.”
Mumbai Indians are yet to open their account in IPL 2025 after consecutive defeats in the tournament with former skipper Rohit Sharma failing to get going with the bat. “No, it’s too hard for me to say now his (Rohit Sharma) weakness,” said Pandit, a one-time Mumbai cricket stalwart. “But definitely, you know, the top-class players are not performing. When you are going to play and counterattack them, it is always you looking forward to that they should not be performing. That is what you expect.
“And how to, you know, tackle them, that is more important. As you said, me and Ajinkya [Rahane, KKR captain] have been playing in Mumbai for so many years. I think we are definitely aware of these conditions, the pitch conditions, the environment. But at the same time, there are other Mumbaikars playing in the Mumbai team as well.”
Rahane has had a good start to his life as KKR captain after scoring a half-century in the season opener followed by a win in the next game. “He has been leading the team,” said Pandit. “He is not only leading the team for our franchise KKR, but he has also been leading the Mumbai team. He has led India as well. So, he has got something different, I mean, captainship skills, material. That is what he has been doing.
And as a player, he had a very good season, last season. And you could see that in the first game, the way he has batted. He shows that lot of confidence. He has been respected in the team as well. He is an experienced man. He is very calm and cool when he is handling situations.”