“BCCI Would Like To Have A Little Bit Of Control Over It”: Sanjay Bangar On IPL Pitch Conditions

Former Indian batting coach Sanjay Bangar believed that while franchises should have some say in pitch preparation, the BCCI should maintain a degree of control in the Indian Premier League to ensure fairness and prevent extreme imbalances in the game. While speaking on ESPNcricinfo’s IPL show, Time Out, he said that while allowing for variations based on regional soil types, some uniformity is necessary to prevent home teams from having too much advantage. “I think BCCI would still like to have a little bit of control over it and maintain the characteristics of a particular surface. If you totally give it to the hands of the franchise, you do not really want the game to be too lopsided as well, so I’m of the opinion [of having] a little bit of uniformity wherein not having too much of a say for the home side, still there is enough variety in terms of the vast nature of our country wherein cricket is played all across the nation, in itself has variations in terms of red soil, black soil and all of that. I’m of the opinion that a little bit of direction or guideline is always better.” Sanjay Bangar said while speaking on ESPNcricinfo’s IPL show, Time Out.

Bangar proposed that it could be more challenging for teams to develop pitches with diverse characteristics at smaller venues like the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, where only the center two pitches are used for IPL matches.

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

These have been key discussion points during the initial weeks of IPL 2025. Kolkata Knight Riders’ head coach Chandrakant Pandit has stated that his team has minimal or no influence over pitch preparation at Eden Gardens.

Chennai Super Kings’ head coach Stephen Fleming has rejected the idea that his team has a considerable home advantage at Chepauk, noting that they have had difficulties interpreting their home pitches in recent seasons. Following his team’s loss to Punjab Kings, Lucknow Super Giants mentor Zaheer Khan indicated that the Ekana pitch appeared as though it had been prepared by the curator from the opposing team.

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