IND vs SA 2025, Sourav Ganguly Reveals Team Management Demanded the Controversial Eden Pitch

24 wickets in two days:  IND vs SA

From the start of the match, the pitch proved exceptionally helpful for both fast bowlers and spinners. Problems such as uneven bounce, sudden sharp turn, and low pitch were observed, making the batsmen’s job extremely difficult.

A total of 24 wickets fell in the first two days, and neither team reached 200 runs in the first three innings. Following this poor performance, social media and cricketing luminaries heavily criticized the Eden pitch:

• Michael Vaughan called it a ‘terrible pitch’.
• Harbhajan Singh expressed his displeasure with the pitch, calling it ‘RIP Test cricket’.

India lost by 30 runs on the third day of play, falling short of their target of 124 runs, all out for just 93 runs.

Ganguly’s shocking revelation 

Following this sharp criticism, people blamed the pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee and the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB). When the CAB started blaming the curator, CAB President and former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly made a major revelation defending the curator.

Ganguly clarified that the pitch was prepared as requested by the Indian team management.

“The pitch is what the Indian team wanted. This is what happens when the pitch is not watered for four days. The curator cannot be blamed for this.” – Sourav Ganguly

This statement is extremely shocking, because just a few days ago, curator Sujan Mukherjee himself had said that the team management had not requested a rank turner or any specific type of pitch. Ganguly’s statement now directly raises questions about the team management’s attempt to take undue advantage of home conditions.