Amid IPL Pitch Row, BCCI's Big Message For Franchises, Curators: Report

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 has already seen a lot of controversy surrounding the pitches with some of the franchises expressing their disappointing with the playing surfaces. Both Kolkata Knight Riders and Lucknow Super Giants expressed their grievances over the 'absence of home advantage'. KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane sparked controversy when he expressed his wish to see a more 'spin-friendly' pitch at Eden Gardens. LSG mentor Zaheer Khan was also not happy with the pitch after his side's loss against Punjab Kings and said that the curator did not prepare it to their liking.

While there was no official communication from BCCI till now, a report by Times Of India quoted a BCCI source who asked the franchises to communicate their 'needs' to the pitch curators.

“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.

 Meanwhile, ahead of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Eden Gardens, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) President Snehasish Ganguly expressed that everything is ready for the defending champions' clash against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) which was postponed from April 6 to 8 due to lack of security owing to Ram Navami festivities.

SRH and KKR, the two trailblazers of last year's edition with plenty of high scores, power-packed knocks, and sky-high run rates, will be aiming to get their campaigns back on track with a crucial match at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday. Both teams have secured just one win in three matches so far, and their explosive batting lineups, in particular, have not performed as per expectations.

Coming to the LSG clash scheduled for April 8, the match was moved to this date from April 6 owing to the deployment of security for Ram Navami festivities on that day, the official website of IPL said in a press release.

(With ANI inputs)