The Cricket Association of Bengal have banned Harsha Bhogle and Simon Doull from commentary at the iconic Eden Gardens. Recently, they were very vocal against the Eden Gardens pitch curator, who initially denied designing a spin-friendly pitch in the ongoing IPL 2025. Doull even offered Kolkata Knight Riders to change their venue next season if the curator Sujan Mukherjee doesn’t listen to their feedback.
The matter died down before the CAB officials wrote to BCCI about red flagging Bhogle and Doull. Secretary Naresh Ojha is said to have written a letter to the BCCI regarding their removal from the commentary roster at Eden Gardens. Interestingly, neither Doull and Bhogle are part of the commentary in the match between KKR and Gujarat Titans on April 21.
Meanwhile, the CAB officials have refused to comment on the matter. Meanwhile, PTI reached out for a comment from Bhogle but the entourage of the legendary commentator mentioned that he isn’t listed for any KKR games at Eden Gardens this season. However, since the Qualifier 2 and the final will be taking place in Kolkata, Bhogle and Doull can be present on those two days - May 23 and 25, respectively.
Meanwhile, both Doull and Bhogle have been suspended by the BCCI previously for their comments. Current Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni and renowned actor Amitabh Bachchan once called out Bhogle, which led to his suspension, while Doull was suspended in 2024.
Meanwhile, the current incident hasn’t been well received by the CAB officials and which led to the request. The officials noted that the curator followed all the guidelines that BCCI shared, including that no franchise can influence or dictate the nature of the pitch at a venue. KKR’s request for a spin-friendly track however was heard and the surface changed but the hosts once again lost another home game against Gujarat.