Eden curator apologises to KKR

Kolkata: Facing criticism for the poor strip for their Indian Premier League tie against Deccan Chargers, Eden Gardens curator Kalyan Mitra went to the Kolkata Knight Riders dressing room and apologised to the players even as there was a move to fly in a pitch consultant from Australia to improve the state of the wicket.

"The curator came to our dressing room after the match and apologised to all of us. He has promised a better wicket for our next match as also the five other games the team will play at the Eden later in the tournament," Australian captain Ricky Ponting, a member of the Knight Riders, disclosed here.

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After losing the match on Sunday, Deccan Chargers skipper V V S Laxman described the pitch as "shocking for any format of the game."

Echoing Laxman, Ponting said, "We are very shocked at the nature of the pitch. Hopefully we will get a better wicket in the next match."

An annoyed BCCI has asked its pitch and grounds committee chairman Daljit Singh to rush to the Eden and suggest remedies.

Cricket Association of Bengal President Prasun Mukherjee said CAB has agreed to a proposal from Jai Mehta, the co-owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders, that a pitch consultant be brought from Australia to inspect the wicket.

"I told him we have no problems with that. The pitch is being prepared by our local curators under the supervision of Daljit Singh. "The Australian pitch specialist, Daljit and our curator can jointly inspect the pitch and decide on the remedial measures," Mukherjee told PTI.