Cheteshwar Pujara surprised with Stephen Fleming’s comments on Chepauk, says CSK always made pitches according to their strengths | Ipl News

With Chennai Super Kings (CSK) coach Stephen Fleming saying that there’s no ‘home advantage’ for the Chennai Super Kings while playing in Chepauk after their 50-run loss to Royal challengers Bengaluru on Friday, veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara, who spent one year at the franchise in 2021, said he found Fleming’s comments surprising.
“… at CSK, you can’t complain. It’s one franchise where they’ve been preparing pitches according to their strengths. If he’s (Fleming) saying that [there is no home advantage, they don’t have a say, then I’m quite surprised,” Pujara told ESPNCricinfo as per PTI.
“If you speak about MI, CSK, KKR – I don’t think that’s the case [them not getting pitches they ask for]. Any other franchise, I can still understand. Those (three) franchises make sure they get what they want. Their strength has been when they play at home,” he added.
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There have been a lot of controversies recently over teams not getting pitches which would play to their advantage in their home grounds with reports suggesting that Eden Gardens pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee denying requests from Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane for the pitch to support more spin in the clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the March 22 opener.
On Friday, Fleming also expressed his unhappiness over the conditions at Chepauk, saying there’s no ‘home advantage’ for the Chennai Super Kings while playing there.

“Well, as we’ve been telling you for a number of years, there was no home advantage at Chepauk,” Fleming said. “We’ve won away from home a couple of times. And we haven’t been able to read… we’ve been really honest with you. We haven’t been able to read the wickets here in the last couple of years. So, it’s not new. We are trying to come to grips each day with what we get, and we don’t know.”