IPL 2025 ka season sirf boundaries aur wickets tak seemit nahi hai. Is baar pitch curators aur team franchises ke beech kaafi tension dekhne ko mil rahi hai. Is sab ki shuruaat hui Lucknow Super Giants ke bowling coach Zaheer Khan ke ek tez bayaan se, jisme unhone apne home ground par pitch ko lekar apni naraazgi jatai.
“What was a little disappointing for me here, considering it’s a home game, is that in the IPL, we’ve seen how teams look to take advantage of playing at home. From that point of view, it seemed like the curator wasn’t really considering it as a home game. It almost felt like the Punjab curator was out here. That’s something we’ll have to figure out,” – Zaheer Khan, post-match press conference
Zaheer Khan hi nahi, Ajinkya Rahane (Kolkata Knight Riders ke captain) aur Stephen Fleming (Chennai Super Kings ke coach) ne bhi apne respective home conditions par sawal uthaye hain. In teeno ke statements ka common thread ye tha ki “slow turning pitches” zyada dikh rahi hain – jo power hitters wali teams ke liye disadvantage ban rahi hain.
To sawal uthta hai – kya IPL teams apne home ground par apni pasand ki pitch maang sakti hain? Aur agar nahi, to BCCI ka is par kya kehna hai?
BCCI Rules: Pitch Banana Kiski Zimmedaari?
IPL regulations ke mutabik, pitch preparation ki responsibility venue authority ki hoti hai – yaani jis state association ka ground hai, wahi decide karta hai pitch ka type.
“Before the match, the Ground Authority shall be responsible for the selection and preparation of the pitch. During the match, the umpires shall control its use and maintenance,” – IPL Guidelines
Toh iska seedha matlab ye hai ki franchises pitch par apni pasand impose nahi kar sakti. Lekin, unka yeh expectation valid hai ki pitch unki team strengths ke according ho – especially jab unhone players kharidne mein crores laga diye ho.
Example ke taur par, Chennai Super Kings ne Noor Ahmad, Ravindra Jadeja aur Ravichandran Ashwin jese spin wizards kharide – jinke combined price Rs 38 crore ke aaspaas hai. Agar unko spin-friendly pitch hi na mile, toh fir unki value ka kya fayda?
Pitch Curators Ko Kya Samajhna Chahiye?
Yeh baat samajhna zaroori hai ki IPL teams har ek player ko carefully pick karti hain – taaki unka home advantage solid ho. Pitch curators ke paas pura saal hota hai venue maintain karne ka. IPL ke 2 mahine mein agar wo thoda teams ke strategy ko madde nazar rakh lein, toh sab ke liye fair ho sakta hai.
Ab dekhna yeh hai ki BCCI is issue ko kis tarah handle karta hai – kyunki agar pitch politics aise hi chali, toh IPL ka asli maza thoda dull ho sakta hai.
