'Surface' tension irks IPL franchises

LSG mentor Zaheer Khan inspecting the pitch (PTI Photo)

Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel.

Bravo plays down pitch issue Kolkata

NEW DELHI: The absence of any discernible ‘home advantage’ has become a talking point in the early stages of the Indian Premier League IPL ) season. Barely two weeks in, there is growing discontent among franchises over local curators not preparing pitches according to the host team’s strengths.On Tuesday evening, Lucknow Super Giants mentor Zaheer Khan caustically remarked that the pitch at the Ekana Stadium looked as if it had been prepared by a “curator from Punjab”. The pitch offered decent seam movement that made it tough for the LSG top order to get going up. The surface was also not suited to the team’s bowling strengths.“What was a little disappointing for me here, considering it’s a home game, and you know, in IPL you’ve seen how teams have looked at taking a little bit of home advantage, you know,” Zaheer said after his team lost in a one-sided contest against Punjab Kings.“From that point of view, you’ve seen the curator is not really thinking that it’s a home game. I think maybe it looked like, you know, it was (the) Punjab curator out here,” he added.There have also been reports of Kolkata Knight Riders demanding a pitch with more assistance for spinners at the Eden Gardens. TOI understands that the Delhi Capitals management too was not happy with the BCCI curator overseeing preparation in their first two home matches in Vizag.The issue has set BCCI and IPL franchises on a collision course.The Delhi Capitals management was clearly informed by BCCI that the authority to make pitches lay with the designated board curator. BCCI guidelines clearly state that franchises and players must not have any say in the preparation of pitches. BCCI’s clear instruction to curators for the IPL is to prepare pitches that don’t offer excessive seam or spin.Having said that, franchises have often worked in tandem with state associations to create a team best suited to local conditions. In 2019, the pitch in Chennai aided excessive turn, which resulted in BCCI deploying neutral curators at venues. The board may now consider deploying neutral curators if teams demand altering the nature of ‘home’ pitches.“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,” a BCCI source said.Sourav Ganguly, who was director of the Delhi Capitals last year, had made regular visits in the preceding year to understand the nature of pitches and work with DDCA. It resulted in the Kotla pitch producing high scores during the 2023 World Cup and IPL 2024.“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 said.Zaheer, meanwhile, said the team will try to “figure out” the pitch in upcoming games.“That (pitch) is something we’ll figure out. It’s a new set-up for me, but I hope that this is the first and the last game when it comes to that (disappointment with the surface),” Khan said, adding: “That’s the nature of IPL, isn’t it? You will be on the go, you’ll be playing home games, away games. It was the first home game for us for this season, so yes, there were a lot of expectations and hopes. Punjab did outplay us.”LSG’s frontline pacers like Akash Deep and Mayank Yadav are grappling with injuries. Zaheer pointed out that the team only had a set of young players like Digvesh Rathi, Prince Yadav and Shahbaz Ahmed to fall back on.The Ajinkya Rahane-led side has been clamouring for more assistance from the surface and this is a match they would desperately want to win.The wicket here came under the limelight in controversial fashion after the home side suffered a defeat in the opening game, with the curator even having to publicly defend his methods of preparation. However, team mentor Dwayne Bravo downplayed the pitch issue.“I don’t know much about pitches,” he said. “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."

Click here to read article