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.
As discussions heated up about the Eden Gardens’ pitches, Fleming confessed that he could not read the Chepauk pitch. It was a very different situation for the CSK, as RCB beat them at home after 17 seasons! The CSK like to play on tracks that are abrasive and spinner friendly. On the night RCB ambushed CSK, the home team made a whole lot of mistakes. That the spinners did not get any purchase was just one aspect of that game.
Going back to the KKR, they have banked more on their spinners like the CSK has done. The pitches at the Eden Gardens can be prepared to help the spinners and the KKR have played on such tracks in the past . The heat beating down on the pitches during the peak of the Indian summer also abets that. So, the curators can either provide flat batter friendly or turning tracks during the summer. Though it is possible to provide turners the curators are reluctant to do so at the start of the IPL season. This is simply because the underprepared tracks will become horrible towards the end of the season.
It is quite a different story at the MAC stadium. The pitches at that venue had enough bounce and carry during the 70’s and the 80’s. But since the 90’s the bounce and carry receded progressively. A lot of effort has gone into revive these elements since the late 90’s. But for some inexplicable reasons, all the efforts undertaken by the TNCA have been futile. Like any other center during the summer, the pitches at the MAC stadium can only be tailored to aid spinners. But the curators will not provide underprepared pitches at the start of the season. Also, you can’t fault them for not roaming around with a bullseye on their backs.
Let’s step away momentarily from the tracks and look at the quality of bowlers that CSK and KKR have in their ranks. The CSK spinners, Ashwin, Jadeja and Noor are crafty enough to work things out on any kind of surface. Ashwin and Jadeja have been around long enough, have succeeded phenomenally, and have enough tricks up their sleeves. Noor being a wrist spinner, is a handful.
The KKR side has Narine, Chakravarthy and Moeen Ali in their ranks. Once again, a trio of highly accomplished achievers. Narine lords over the batters in this format across the World and his quota of overs is gold dust. His gets his wickets at a very cheap rate and after all these years batters have not yet made him out. Varun Chakravarthy started playing competitive cricket late in his life, but he has made a grand job of catching up rather quickly. In recent times he has carved out a niche for himself and has catapulted himself as one of the main choices even for Team India. Moeen Ali is getting better with each passing year, and he has blended into the KKR set up seamlessly.
Turning tracks or not, the crafty spinners of the KKR and the CSK can deliver. Because spinners are a force to reckon with, a notion that has been proved time and again. For example, Piyush Chawla is one of the leading wicket takers for the Punjab franchise with an economy rate of around 7.5. Axar Patel also figures in that list at an economy rate of around 7.4. It is common knowledge that the pitches at Mohali and Dharamshala are not spinner friendly. But that has not deterred either Chawla or Patel from doing their job efficiently enough. Of course, even the best of bowlers will have an off day or two in the T20 format. But then, that is the nature of the beast.
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.
Trie. Pitches like Rajiv gandhi stadium Hyderabad. Helping batters also seen
Now its all becoming batters game and bowlers needs to work hard hard fielders role also becoming very hard under the scorching heat
Spinners Like Noor and Varun able to extract some help because of variety
But senior spinners and Fast bowlers getting stick
As a spectator, all for a level playing ground! But interests of different parties will mean using whatever possible to eke out an advantage. Unfair? So be it!