Home Advantage Debate Simmers in IPL 2025 as Gujarat Titans Thrive

Ahmedabad, April 13, 2025 – As the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season unfolds, the concept of home advantage has sparked heated discussions among players, coaches, and franchise officials. While cricket lacks the pronounced home bias seen in football—where familiarity with the pitch and crowd support can sway outcomes—teams like the Gujarat Titans (GT) are proving that nuanced advantages, such as understanding local conditions, still matter.

In football, home teams benefit from intimate knowledge of their stadium and vocal fan support, often influencing referees and unsettling opponents. In contrast, IPL teams cannot dictate pitch conditions, as curators operate under strict guidelines. Yet, factors like crowd energy and familiarity with stadium dimensions remain critical. Last season, defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), alongside Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Delhi Capitals (DC), and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), leveraged these intangibles to secure five home wins each. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) also notched three of their six consecutive victories at home en route to the playoffs.

This year, however, some franchises have voiced frustration over pitches not aligning with home team strategies. KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane, Lucknow Super Giants mentor Zaheer Khan, and CSK coach Stephen Fleming have criticized curators for surfaces that neutralize home strengths. Punjab Kings assistant bowling coach Trevor Gonsalves went further, stating, “there is no home advantage in the IPL.”

Gujarat Titans’ Chief Operating Officer, Colonel Arvinder Singh, offered a measured perspective in an interview with TimesofIndia.com. “Look, the rules and regulations on this are very clear and not just from this season. They’ve been clear right from the very beginning,” he said. “The rules of the game are very clear and they are common for everybody. No franchise has any right to say, ‘I want this kind of a pitch’. That’s not something that the rules allow you to do.”

Singh emphasized that home advantage stems from familiarity, not manipulation. “The home advantage has to stem from the fact that that is your home. You are supposed to know those conditions better than anybody else who’s coming because that is where you play most of your games, where you practice. So from that perspective, if you’re looking at a home advantage, well, why not? You deserve all the home advantage that you can take,” he explained. “To say that I need home advantage because I want this kind of a pitch. Sorry, I don’t think that cuts any ice with anybody.”

The IPL Playing Conditions support Singh’s stance. Section 1.11 under ‘The Match’ definitions assigns pitch preparation to the Ground Authority, stating, “Ground Authority is the entity responsible for the selection and preparation of the pitch and other functions relating to the hosting and management of the match, including any agents acting on their behalf (including but not limited to the curator or other ground staff).”

On the field, GT have exemplified how to capitalize on home conditions without relying on tailored pitches. At their home ground, Narendra Modi Stadium, the 2022 champions have won two of three matches this season. Overall, GT lead the IPL 2025 standings with four victories in five games, amassing eight points. While former champions CSK, Mumbai Indians (MI), SRH, KKR, and Rajasthan Royals (RR) grapple with inconsistency, GT’s disciplined campaign sets them apart.

Reflecting on the season, Singh cautioned against early triumphalism. “I think it’s still early days. By God’s grace, yes we have done well thus far, but there’s still a long way to go. It’s a long drawn tournament. So we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves and start thinking of the playoffs already. There’s a long way to go and we need to win more games,” he said. He also dismissed premature judgments about other teams’ prospects, noting, “It’s not easy to get to the top four and be there consistently. Some teams continue the same momentum throughout and some teams start early, but are not able to sustain that momentum. And then you suddenly find somebody coming through, like what happened with RCB last year. So it’s too early to discount anything and say that any former champion or even those who have not been champions are out of the race this early in the tournament.”

A significant factor in GT’s success has been the emergence of Shubman Gill as captain. After a challenging debut as skipper in 2024, where GT finished eighth, Gill has silenced doubters in 2025. Leading from the front with 148 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 146.53, he has guided a squad bolstered by standout performances from Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler, Sai Kishore, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna. Singh praised Gill’s growth, stating, “It is his coming of age now as a leader more than a captain. You can see it in his body language, the control, whether it’s the strategy that he’s adopting, whether he’s reacting to situations on ground. It’s amazing to see how young Shubman has developed into a leader of the pack and still being able to be one of the finest players as far as GT is concerned.”

Defending the decision to appoint Gill despite initial skepticism, Singh added, “So it is amazing to see his growth. We have always said that at GT we like to do things from a longer-term perspective and not look at short-term solutions. So last time we were criticised a little bit to say that, you know, it’s too early for him (to captain) and there were other options available. But you’re always looking at it from a longer-term perspective, you know, and I think we can happily say that that decision was a good decision and it’s going to hold us in good stead over a number of years going forward.”

Looking ahead, GT are planning strategically, with potential expansion into the Women’s Premier League (WPL) under consideration. The franchise’s growth mirrors the IPL’s broader success, recently underscored by the Ahmedabad-based Torrent Group’s acquisition of a 67% stake in GT, reportedly valuing the team at ₹7,500 crore. Singh, a veteran of the IPL with stints at Kings XI Punjab, Gujarat Lions, and GT, reflected on the league’s evolution. “When we started out in 2008, nobody knew how it was going to pan out. It took more than a couple of years for IPL to kind of realise its potential,” he said. “It was only after the fourth or fifth year, where it was a gradual growth all along. But after the fourth year, we realised that it is the quality of cricket that is going to define the longevity of the league. It is the quality of the cricket that happens on the ground, the quality of players and the type of cricket that is showcased therein which is going to draw in eyeballs.”

He concluded with pride, “At that point we realised it is something that, as Indians, we can be proud of. Today you see what it has grown into. In terms of growth, it is more than 10x (from) where it started off. IPL has seen its ups and downs over the number of years. But if you look at a sporting property in 17 years where nothing like this had ever happened in our country. From what it was and what it is today, I think it is something that all of us can be pretty proud of.”

As GT continue their strong run, the debate over home advantage persists, but their performance suggests that preparation and adaptability may outweigh pitch disputes in the race for IPL glory.