RCB To Launch BCCI Protest Amidst Franchise Lobbying Against Pitch Curators

After CSK, KKR, and LSG complained about home pitches, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batting coach Dinesh Karthik was the most recent to voice reservations.

This followed RCB's defeat over the Delhi Capitals at Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

At their home field, M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, RCB have lost consecutive games.

On Thursday, April 10, they lost to the Delhi Capitals (DC) by six wickets in their most recent game played in Bengaluru. Karthik's remarks regarding IPL 2025 home pitches stoked the continuing discussion.

RCB lost to DC despite home conditions

Against the Delhi Capitals, Royal Challengers Bengaluru got off to a fast start. In 3.4 overs, they reached 61 without losing. But they collapsed to 125 for 7 after losing seven wickets for just 64 runs in the following 13.3 overs.

Kuldeep Yadav and Vipraj Nigam, wrist-spinners for DC, were mostly responsible for the collapse. Timing was an issue for the batters, particularly when trying to hit overhead shots.

Captain Rajat Patidar scored 25 from 23 balls, while Devdutt Padikkal only managed 1 run off 8 balls. Jitesh Sharma (3 off 11), Krunal Pandya (18 from 18), and Liam Livingstone (4 off 6) also had poor performances.

DC batsman KL Rahul led the chase with an undefeated 93 after being reduced to 58/4. Together with Tristan Stubbs, he scored 111* runs to help DC win by six wickets. Following a previous eight-wicket loss against the Gujarat Titans, where they were only able to score 169/8, this was RCB's second home loss of the season.

RCB Have Asked for Good Pitches - Dinesh Karthik slams Bengaluru curator

Dinesh Karthik disclosed during the press conference following the game that although the team had asked for a batting-friendly surface, the deliveries were challenging for hitters. He claimed that their aggressive batting approach was not suited to the "tricky" pitch.

"I think the way T20 cricket is, the more runs there are, the better it is for the broadcaster, the better it is for the fans. They all like to see boundaries. In the first two games, we have asked for good pitches."

"But it's turned out in this way where it's been challenging to bat on, for sure. Definitely, this is not a pitch that's helping the batters too much. It's a challenging pitch. That has been the case so far in both the games that we have played," Karthik said in the post-match conference.

Dinesh Karthik fires warning

According to Dinesh Karthik, he intends to discuss the playing conditions with the pitch curator. He noted that batters have found it challenging to hit huge shots or rotate strikes because of the surface. Karthik went on to say that the team will do their best and has faith in the curator.

"There's been a wobble when people have tried to stay out there and fight it out as well. It's been hard to, at times, rotate the strike. And the big shot has been really hard as well."

"So we have tried to control it [the urge to keep hitting]. "But, at the end, it's a T20. You have to play some shots, and that has gotten the wicket of a few batters. We will obviously have a chat with the curator. We trust him to do his job, and we will try and do the best of what we can," Karthik signed off.

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