IPL 2025: Zaheer Khan Expresses Disappointment Over LSG’s Home Pitch Conditions

April 2, 2025: Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) mentor Zaheer Khan expressed his frustration with the pitch conditions after the team suffered an eight-wicket defeat at their home ground in the IPL 2025. The match, in which LSG lost with 22 balls to spare, left the team and their supporters disappointed, as the pitch did not provide the expected home advantage.

Zaheer Khan, speaking at the post-match press conference, pointed out that the pitch did not seem tailored for the home team. “What was a little disappointing for me here… considering it’s a home game and in IPL you’ve seen how teams have looked at taking a little bit of home advantage, from that point of view you’ve seen the curator is not really thinking that it’s a home game. I think maybe it looked like, you know, it was Punjab’s curator out here,” Zaheer said, as per ESPNcricinfo.

He went on to express concern about the lack of support for the home team, saying, “So that’s something which we will figure out. It’s a new setup for me, but I hope that this is the first and the last game when it comes to that. Because you are disappointing the Lucknow fans as well. They’ve come up with so many expectations of winning the first home game here.”

Despite the loss, Zaheer emphasized the team’s confidence and resilience, promising that LSG would continue to fight. “As a team, we are confident. We accept that we’ve lost the game, and we have got to do whatever it takes to make that impact in the home leg. We still have six more games to go here, and this team has shown in the season so far, whatever little cricket is played, that we have the right outlook and mindset to look at the IPL,” he said.

The pitch’s impact was particularly felt in LSG’s bowling strategy. With injuries limiting their fast-bowling options, they were hoping for a surface that would favor spin or at least neutralize Punjab Kings (PBKS) pace attack. However, they were forced to field just two frontline pacers, including Shardul Thakur, who was added last minute. PBKS capitalized on the conditions with their pace trio of Arshdeep Singh, Lockie Ferguson, and Marco Jansen, who together took 5 wickets for 112 runs in 13 overs.

Zaheer acknowledged the mismatch between expectations and reality, saying, “That’s what we are saying. We will go according to what the curator tells us. We are not using this as an excuse. We have seen during the last season that it’s not like batters don’t have to struggle here at times. But the way the home team should get support, everyone needs to know this is our home team that is playing in Lucknow and what can we do to help them win?”

LSG captain Rishabh Pant also weighed in on the pitch conditions, revealing that the team had expected a slower track, which led to their decision to replace seamer Prince Yadav with spinner M Siddharth. “The idea was to get a slower wicket. We felt it was a home game; it was going to stop a little bit. I think the slower ones, when bowled into the wicket, were still sticking in, but we weren’t good enough on the day. We have to learn and move forward,” Pant said.

This concern over pitch conditions is not unique to LSG. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have also voiced similar frustrations. KKR has expressed a desire for more spin-friendly surfaces, while CSK, despite having the best home win-loss record in IPL history, has faced difficulty predicting conditions at their ground in recent years.

LSG now looks ahead to their remaining home games, hoping to turn things around as they continue to assess and adapt to the conditions in Lucknow.