Harsha Bhogle Reacts to IPL Ban Rumors at Eden Gardens

Harsha Bhogle has finally reacted to the rumors that he was banned from commentating at Eden Gardens during an IPL match. The reports had indicated that the Cricket Association of Bengal or CAB had requested his ouster along with New Zealand commentator Simon Doull after they made some remarks about the Eden Gardens pitch not favoring the home team Kolkata Knight Riders. But Bhogle has now set the record straight and indicated that these allegations are absolutely untrue. He described that he had to do two matches in Kolkata and those had already been accomplished.

He shared his team's side on social media and announced that there are some people doing incorrect assumptions. He announced he was not to do the KKR vs. Gujarat Titans match that occurred on Monday. He added that commentary schedules are locked prior to the tournament. He further added that he had to skip one of the Kolkata matches due to a family sickness. Therefore, there was no special reason why he wasn't present at the match. He believed that all this confusion could have been avoided if someone would simply ask him directly.

The controversy came into the limelight after a letter written by CAB to BCCI became public. The letter had been penned ten days prior to the match and it was circulated in media reports just now. In the letter, the CAB had asked Harsha Bhogle and Simon Doull to be dropped from commentary roles for matches in Kolkata. They had commented on air that the Eden Gardens pitch was not assisting KKR and that the team deserved better pitches at home.

Simon Doull had gone one step ahead with his statements. Following CAB supporting pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee Doull mentioned that perhaps KKR should consider relocating to a new home ground. This put fuel in the fire and there was an overreaction by the fans and authorities. But Doull was only voicing his opinion from what he had observed on the pitch.

The KKR side itself has also expressed concern over the pitch. Captain Ajinkya Rahane and coach Chandrakant Pandit both stated that they would have liked a pitch that assisted their spin bowlers more. The side has good spinners such as Varun Chakravarthy Sunil Narine and Moeen Ali and they believe that a spin friendly pitch would provide them with a better opportunity to win at home. They were disappointed that the pitch was not according to their strengths.

On Monday when KKR played against Gujarat Titans at Eden Gardens they lost the game by 39 runs. That result only served to increase the frustration of the team and their fans. Fans started attributing the loss to the pitch conditions and the previous comments made by Bhogle and Doull were brought into the conversation again.

But Harsha Bhogle needs to clear the air. He clarified that there was no ban and no one prevented him from being involved in the match.
It is quite common for commentators to express their views about the pitch and conditions of play. It is their professional obligation to provide genuine feedback. At times, their feedback might not go down well with all but that should not mean that they are muzzled or taken off the air. Bhogle and Doull have been around in the sport for a while and their analysis is valued by viewers everywhere.

Ultimately this whole situation demonstrates just how fast rumors can spread and how easily things can be misunderstood. Harsha Bhogle's explanation helps clear up the situation. It reminds us that sometimes a simple question can avoid a lot of confusion. He was never excluded from commentary at Eden Gardens and no action had been taken against him. He had done his commentary work as scheduled and skipped one match due to personal reasons.

So the next time you hear such stories it might be worth verifying the facts first. As Bhogle himself put it everything was decided before the tournament started. There was no mystery and no controversy. Just a case of people assuming too much and not asking the right questions.