IPL: Pandit downplays pitch issue, but expects some favour

The pitch controversy is just not going away. On the eve of the KKR-MI match at Wankhede, the away-team Head Coach Chandrakant Pandit answering to a broader question said who would not want some home team advantage.

When asked if IPL teams in general should receive more favourable pitches at their home venues for seven out of 14 league matches, Pandit replied, “Who will not be happy about that? I mean, this is a simple answer."

This comes after CSK Head Coach Ian Flemming’s recent comments, "Well, as we've been telling you for a number of years, there was no home advantage at Chepauk. It's not the Chepauk [of old] where you can just go in and play four spinners. We're having to work really hard to try and understand what the nature of each pitch is, and it's quite different."

Pandit on Sunday supported the idea of teams having greater control over the nature of pitches at their home venues, saying they too "expect something to be provided at Eden Gardens”.

"As a coach, as a team management, we always whatever the surface has been provided to us, we play. The control, of course, that will be under curator," Pandit said.

Pandit, who continued to downplay the pitch issue, said any team including KKR would like to play on pitches that support their skills.

"But at this moment, my focus is definitely going to be in the next game tomorrow which we are playing. I am definitely not thinking on what has to be done, what is in whose control… let us focus on tomorrow's game which is very crucial for us."

When asked again if the team management can advise the curator, since the franchise leases the stadium with so much money, "I don't know what is the system in different states or different grounds where the control is over the franchise.

"But, at the moment, what I understand is the surface which is given to us, probably, of course, as a team management, as a coach, as a captain, we expect something to be provided. That's all."

Former India cricketer and ex-KKR batting coach in his blog gave his opinion on the issue. "The curators were subjected to some heat at the end of the first week of this IPL edition. Incidentally, the teams along the east coast, the CSK and KKR have expressed their reservations about the pitches they get at home.

"Statements attributed to the leadership group of these teams allude that they are not gaining any “home advantage”. The curators and the coaches have their own objectives to achieve and therefore, there is bound to be some friction.

"Sujan Mukherjee, the curator at the Eden Gardens is a former cricketer and is a highly experienced curator. He has been tending to the pitches at that venue for a long time and has provided good tracks. He is his own man and does not accede completely to the wishes of the team management all the time. Besides, he has his limitations in that he must follow the guidelines of the BCCI."

"Looking at this issue from the curators’ perspective, they must be mindful of several factors. They must abide by the BCCI guidelines, ensure the pitches last throughout the season, and possibly stake a claim for any reward that is on offer. Besides, they need to also cater to the demands and requirements of their State cricket Associations, which is a huge challenge by itself.

"As a result, the curators tend to err on the side of caution. Also, there is this little matter of safeguarding one’s own turf. Anyway, the tracks will start being spinner friendly as the tournament gets into the second half.

"Until then, the teams have to outwit their opponents tactically to stay ahead in the race,” Raman said in his blog.