The pitch at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow has been in the news lately for all wrong reasons, especially as it has produced low-scoring encounters in the ongoing IPL 2023. On Wednesday, Lucknow Super Giants managed to score just 125/7 in 19.2 overs against CSK before the match was abandoned due to rain. This has been the norm at the venue this season and teams have struggled to score six runs per over.
Earlier, in a T20I between India and New Zealand, on January 29, New Zealand almost defended the total of 99 as India had to work hard to chase that total down. Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) suspended its curator Surender Kumar after chasing 100 became a task in the T20I against New Zealand.
Times of India reported that the BCCI curators had taken over the ground in February and decided to renovate the pitch about 50 days before the IPL began. And it seems that their ploy to work on the surface with much less time left for the IPL has left the surface undercooked.
“BCCI had decided to send a panel of curators to look after the pitch in Lucknow. They decided to do grassing on the square in such a short time frame. That has backfired. The pitches have stayed undercooked,” a BCCI source told TOI.
“BCCI curators told UPCA to redo the pitches and it was outsourced to a contractor in the first week of February. It takes six weeks for the pitches to settle down after the grassing. But it takes care and minute monitoring right through. UPCA has spent a lot on the surface but nobody really cared after the contract was handed out. Nobody really looked after the square. Hence, nothing worked,” the source said.
LSG Management Were Unhappy As They Didn’t Get To Camp On Their Home Ground: Source
Meanwhile, the source also revealed that the Lucknow Super Giants management was also unhappy with the BCCI curators taking over the ground preparation in Ekana which led to them being unable to practice in their home ground.
They were forced to hold a camp at the Ferozeshah Kotla in February-March.
“The team didn’t have any idea about the surface when they went to play the first match. In the first match against Delhi Capitals, the pitch was covered with a heavy layer of grass. Nobody could gauge how the underneath surface was. And it all unravelled very quickly,” the source said.
“Lucknow is slated to host World Cup matches in October-November. Perhaps, that forced the BCCI’s hand. They will have to renovate the surface during the off season after the IPL,” the source added.