Kolkata, December 2: After having single-handedly fought a 'pitched battle' with BCCI and CAB for five days, Eden Gardens curator Prabir Mukherjee 'retired hurt' on Saturday, but not before lashing out at skipper MS Dhoni's demand for a rank turner for the third Test between India and England starting here on Wednesday.
Mukherjee, 83, reluctant to oblige Dhoni's 'unreasonable demand', complained of uneasiness on Friday night and was advised by his doctors to take complete rest for the next few days. Bowing to family pressure, the octogenarian - who lost his wife and daughter earlier this year - requested CAB on Saturday morning to grant him leave on medical grounds. But by evening, Mukherjee was back tending the Eden Gardens pitch following a sordid day-long drama.
It started with the veteran curator's now-show at Eden on Saturday morning. Instead, he addressed the media at his home during the course of which he took pot shots at Dhoni.
"Dhoni has asked for a square turner. This is immoral because you (organisers) are selling tickets for a five-day Test. On a square turner, there's every chance of a match ending in three days. Why rob people of two days' play? It's immoral and illogical to tamper with the pitch. I've not done it in my life," Mukherjee, Eden's curator for 15 years, said.
Reminded about Dhoni's preference, an agitated Mukherjee shot back: "If he asks for the moon, is it possible to give him that? The players are contracted to the BCCI and get paid handsomely to play good cricket. Their contracts don't stipulate that they would get this (turners). Climatic conditions vary from state to state. What you get in Mumbai, you won't get in Kolkata because the conditions and soil content are different," he added.
Pointing out that tending to pitches was his passion, not profession, Mukherjee said: "I don't want to be a party to tampering with the pitch at Eden Gardens. If anything goes wrong, I don't want to be hanged."
Mukherjee felt aggrieved after the BCCI rushed East Zone curator Ashish Bhowmick to Eden to "assist" him prepare the pitch. Mukherjee made it clear that he had nothing against Bhowmick. "He is a good man. Unfortunately he can't say I won't do this because he's just starting off. On the other hand, I'm at the fag end of my life," said Mukherjee, who also took CAB to task for not backing his stand on the pitch issue.
"They're threatening to suspend me if I talk about the pitch. This is the treatment I get after more than two decades of service at CAB," Mukherjee lamented.
Sensing Mukherjee's belligerent mood, CAB rushed treasurer Biswarup Dey to Mukherjee's home in the afternoon to pacify him. Dey escorted Mukherjee to CAB president Jagmohan Dalmiya's residence. It required the former BCCI chief's considerable persuasive powers to convince Mukherjee to return to the Eden Gardens later in the day and resume his supervisory role. Mukherjee was seen interacting with Bhowmick, instructing the ground staff, signalling the end of the day-long drama.
"There's no issue at all. We've sorted out the differences. Prabir Mukherjee remains the Eden Gardens curator. He will be in-charge of the Test match against England starting on December 5 and the India versus Pakistan ODI on January 3 next year," Dalmiya told newsmen.
He blamed the media for creating an "unnecessary" controversy. "I've been hearing all sorts of stories everyday created by the media. He (Prabir) couldn't come to Eden Gardens this morning because he wasn't well. I've requested him to come at least for a few hours daily to supervise preparation of the pitch," Dalmiya said.
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