IPL 2025: Another pitch controversy? Ajinkya Rahane reveals his thoughts after KKR vs LSG

While IPL 2025 has delivered plenty of entertainment on the field, there has been some drama off-field as well. One of the key issues has been the lack of ‘home advantage’, with several captains or coaches saying the pitches at their home venues weren’t exactly to their liking. The first one to voice it was Ajinkya Rahane, the Kolkata Knight Riders’ captain, at the start of the tournament. 

The Eden Gardens curator Sujan Mukherjee reacted sharply to that, saying franchises had no say over the pitches. After the second game though, Rahane expressed satisfaction at the pitch.

However, after the third game in Kolkata, Rahane reignited the debate on pitches. KKR lost by just four runs after mounting a valiant chase, finishing on 234 for 7 after LSG had put on 238/3. 

The scores indicated how batting-friendly the surface was, even though Rahane had earlier expressed his desire to have pitches that aid spin, given KKR’s formidable duo of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy operating in the middle overs.

When Rahane was asked after the game whether ‘home advantage’ was a factor at all in the IPL of late, he said, “There has been enough talk about the pitch. You guys have hyped it enough, toh agar main abhi kuch bolunga to bawaal ho jayega (if I say anything now, there will be an uprorar). Let me just keep it that way. Our curator has got a lot of publicity, I think he’s happy with that publicity!

“You can write whatever you want about home advantage,” Rahane told journalists at the press conference. “If I feel something, I’ll tell the IPL rather than talk here. I’ll speak to the concerned authorities.”

Dhoni, Kohli and home advantage

Rahane also addressed the perceived issue of the likes of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli receiving vociferous support even at away games. “They have achieved so much, they have done great things for the country and franchise,” Rahane said. “So it’s very normal that you have people coming out here and supporting their role models, their heroes. It’s completely normal.

“But for KKR, the support has been amazing here for us as a team. They are always behind us, they enjoy cricket. The atmosphere, the energy, the passion which all the fans have is amazing. When guys like Virat and MS come, it’s very normal that people will support them, and people want to see them more on the ground rather than off the field.”

KKR’s tactics vs LSG

Rahane was questioned about KKR’s batting order in their tall chase, with Andre Russell coming in at No.7 and Rinku Singh at No.8. Rinku smashed 38* off 15 to take them close to victory, and people were left wondering if the result could have been different if Rinku had come in earlier.

Instead KKR sent in the promising young Ramandeep Singh at No.5, a move Rahane defended. “Frankly, I was batting at that point of time and I got out,” he explained. “But again, see Ramandeep is a quality player. He’s done it for the team in the past as well, so there is no question of… again if he clicks, no one will ask the question. 

The thought behind sending Ramandeep might have been to just go and play freely, because Russell stays for the later stages, teams actually feel wary of it. That might be the only reason.

“We all know Russell is a dangerous player. Chasing 230-plus, batsmen will have to go really hard. Sometimes it clicks, sometimes it doesn’t. We are not at all concerned or worried about his form,” he added.

Why Narine did not bowl his full quota

When LSG were batting, Rahane didn’t use up Sunil Narine’s full quota. The ace spinner bowled three overs, and went for 38 runs in those without taking a wicket. Rahane clarified that there was no injury scare with Narine, but that it was a tactical call. 

“I thought Nicholas Pooran was playing well against him. We thought playing the spinners was easier, with one boundary being shorter. That’s the reason I wanted to bowl Andre Russell. He got a wicket in the previous over so I thought I’ll go with him. The other bowlers were struggling, so I had to keep other options in the last two-three overs. That was the only reason.”

KKR’s next game is against Chennai Super Kings, in Chennai, on April 11. The loss today means they remain at four points, having played five games in IPL 2025.

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