Delhi Capitals spinner Vipraj Nigam believes teams don’t gain much advantage from home conditions in the IPL. Ahead of DC’s clash with Lucknow Super Giants at Ekana Stadium on April 22, Nigam explained that teams now prepare similarly across venues.
This season, several franchises have struggled at home, including Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Chennai Super Kings, and Kolkata Knight Riders. Some captains have criticised their pitches, but Nigam pointed to balanced preparation as the key reason.
He mentioned that players like him and Sameer Rizvi have prior experience at the Ekana venue through the UP T20 League. Their familiarity with ground dimensions and local conditions could help, but he stressed that such knowledge only goes so far in the IPL.
“Home conditions are not very advantageous in IPL but yes you have an idea as to what to consider,” Nigam said at the pre-match press conference, as quoted by PTI.
“There is not much advantage to the team. You are familiar with the weather, ground dimension etc. But all teams have similar preparation… The UP T20 league happened here. So we have played T20 games here. Sameer [Rizvi] and I have an idea of the ground so we will try follow the same process we did in UP T20,” he added.
Notably, Nigam has played a key role for Delhi Capitals this season, contributing both with bat and ball. The left-arm spinner has taken seven wickets and scored 54 runs at a strike rate of 207.69. His standout batting effort came against Lucknow Super Giants earlier this season, where he scored a crucial 39.
With the match approaching, Delhi Capitals will be looking to rely on consistent preparation over venue-specific expectations to overcome LSG in an important away fixture.
