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KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane and LSG mentor Zaheer Khan have expressed their dissatisfactions at the pitches of their respective home venues in the ongoing IPL 2025.
Zaheer Khan took a subtle dig at the Lucknow pitch curator recently. (PTI Photo)
Some of the IPL franchises this season haven’t been satisfied at the pitches laid out for their home games so far as they lament the absence of any home advantage. Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane sparked the debate when he expressed his wish to see the pitch at Eden Gardens assist his spinners after their defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the opening match of IPL 2025.
Later, Lucknow Super Giants mentor Zaheer Khan also complaint about the pitch for their first home game of the ongoing campaign that saw them suffer a heavy defeat to visitors Punjab Kings. Zaheer quipped that the surface seemed to have been prepared by PBKS curator indicating it didn’t play to the home team’s strengths.
However, the BCCI doesn’t seem to have any issue with the pitches so far and instead advised the franchises to ‘communicate’ their needs in advance and not in the middle of a season.
“The pitches have been good so far. Hence, they may be asking for pitches that have more help for bowlers. But there needs to be better communication between the franchise and the curators. It can’t happen within a week of the IPL season,” The Times of India quoted a BCCI source said.
“As far as Lucknow is considered, the square needs to be relaid to alter the basic nature of the pitch, which is intrinsically slow in nature. According to BCCI guidelines, it needs to have a good grass cover to sustain itself through the tournament. Same goes for all other venues,” the source added.
The publication further reported that even Delhi Capitals weren’t happy with the pitches for their opening two home matches of the season held in Vizag.
As per the BCCI guidelines, neither franchise nor the player has any say in the nature of pitches and that curators must prepare surfaces that offer a balance between seam and spin bowling.
While his captain may have made his annoyance public, KKR mentor Dwayne Bravo begs to differ.
“For me, it’s always the team which plays best on the day, wins. Whether the pitch is slow, or turning or not, should not matter. I always tell the players to make the assessment and play according to the conditions,” Bravo said.
