‘Don’t want matches to be too lopsided’- Sanjay Bangar backs BCCI’s role in IPL pitch preparation

Sanjay Bangar, the former head coach of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), has supported the BCCI’s participation in the Indian Premier League (IPL) pitch preparation for 2025. In recent home games, teams like the Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have been disappointed by the lack of home advantage because they were unable to get the pitches they wanted.

Eden Gardens curator Sujan Mukherjee said that franchises utilising the stadium have no influence over pitch preparation instructions, which are issued by the BCCI. Ajinkya Rahane, the captain of KKR, also criticised the surface’s lack of support for spinners and advocated for surfaces that would help slower bowlers. After the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) lost to Punjab Kings in their opening home game at the Ekana Cricket Stadium, coach Zaheer Khan also expressed reservations regarding the field.

Bangar thinks the pitch would significantly favour the home team, nevertheless, if curators adopted franchise preferences. He underlined that in order to preserve objectivity in pitch preparation, the BCCI must be involved.

Bangar stated, “I believe the BCCI would still like to have some control over it and preserve the qualities of a particular surface.”

“I’m of the opinion [of] having a little bit of uniformity wherein not having too much of a say for the home side, but still there is enough variety in terms of the vast nature of our country where cricket is played all over the nation, which in itself has variations in terms of red soil, black soil, and all that. If you completely give it to the franchise, you don’t really want the game to be too lopsided as well. I believe that a small amount of guidance or direction is always preferable,” he continued.

Sanjay Bangar draws attention to Chinnaswamy Stadium’s lack of pitch diversity.

However, after beginning the season with two straight away victories, RCB lost to Gujarat Titans (GT) by eight wickets at home. Royal Challengers, who batted first, had a rough start and were at 42 for 4 early on before posting 169 for 8.

The Chinnaswamy Stadium’s constrained size limits the range of pitches that can be used, according to Bangar, a three-season member of the RCB coaching team.

Regarding the Bengaluru ground, Bangar continued, “Due to the ground’s size, there are only two pitches on which you can play games in RCB, Chinnaswamy, and generally you can’t have a lot of variation [between] those two surfaces because it is practically impossible to do that.”

RCB had suffered three straight losses during the previous IPL season and has lost four of their last eight games played there.