Harsha Bhogle has broken his silence and ended speculations on his IPL commentary ban during the IPL 2025 game between Kolkata Knight Riders and Gujarat Titans on Monday.
After the Cricket Association of Bengal insisted that he was only empanelled for two games in Kolkata, which are over. His clarification came a day after CAB’s letter to the BCCI, sent about 10 days ago by its secretary Naresh Ojha, was revealed in the media.
In the letter, the body asked for the removal of Harsha Bhogle and Simon Doull from the commentary panel for matches in Kolkata after they stated that the Eden Gardens pitch was not helping the local franchise Kolkata Knight Riders.
“There are some inappropriate conclusions being drawn about why I wasn’t at yesterday’s game in Kolkata. Quite simply, it wasn’t on the list of matches I was down to do!” Bhogle posted on ‘X’.
“Asking me would have resolved the issue. Rosters are done before the tournament starts. I was rostered for two games in Kolkata. I was there for the first and an illness in the family prevented me from being at the 2nd,” he added.
There are some inappropriate conclusions being drawn about why I wasn’t at yesterday’s game in Kolkata. Quite simply, it wasn’t on the list of matches I was down to do! Asking me would have resolved the issue. Rosters are done before the tournament starts. I was rostered for two…
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 22, 2025
Kolkata played Gujarat Titans at the Eden Gardens where the home side suffered a 39-run defeat. Ajinkya Rahane and head coach Chandrakant Pandit have demanded a more spin friendly track the venue and expressed their frustrations at not being given a track that suits their attack featuring Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine and Moeen Ali.
After the CAB threw its weight behind curator Sujan Mukherjee, Doull had suggested that KKR should look for a new base given that Mukherjee was not fulfilling the team’s requirements.
Kolkata Knight Riders has three wins out of eighth games and secured 7th position in the IPL 2025 Points table. KKR will play their next game against Punjab Kings on April 26 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
