Overused Pitches at GSL — This Was Bound to Happen

Before anything else—yes, I’ve been a bit off lately. Hospital visits. I’m fine, but someone in the family is admitted, so naturally family comes first. Still, in between all that, I’ve been keeping an eye on the Pakistan Super League, and one thing just didn’t sit right with me.

The way pitches are being used at GSL.

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Same Pitch, Again and Again

From what I followed, the same surface kept getting used:

• Quetta vs Hyderabad
• Islamabad vs Multan
• Zalmi vs Pindiz
• Karachi vs Quetta
• Lahore vs Hyderabad
• And then Lahore Qalandars vs Karachi Kings

That’s six games back-to-back on one pitch.

Now I’m not a horticulturist, I won’t pretend to be one—but you don’t need a degree to understand this much:

Keep using the same surface again and again, and it will change.

What I Noticed — And What Didn’t Add Up

On this very track:

• A 200+ target was chased comfortably Then
• Then suddenly, batting became difficult

So what exactly changed?

Because conditions don’t flip like a switch without a reason.

• To me, it looked simply:
• The pitch got tired.
• Too much cricket on the same strip, too little recovery time.

Basic Sense — Not Science

Again, I’m not going into technicalities.

But even basic sense tells you:

• Repeated footmarks
• Continuous rolling
• Constant impact

All of this affects how the pitch behaves.

And when it starts reacting differently within a few days, you know something isn’t being managed properly.

“Logistics” — The Usual Excuse

Now people will say:

“Logistics issue.”

But here’s my question—

You’re at the same ground, right?

So why not change the pitch?

No one is asking you to move cities. Just rotate the strips.

That’s basic planning.

Lahore vs Karachi — The Clear Example

The Lahore Qalandars vs Karachi Kings game made it obvious.

Same venue, same overused track.

Earlier games on it looked completely different.

• This one? Slower
• Harder to bat
• Not the same surface at all

That’s not strategy.

That’s wear and tear.

Why I Keep Saying — Shuffle Things

This is exactly why I keep repeating:

Shuffle venues. Rotate pitches.

• Because if you don’t:You compromise quality
• You confuse players
• You make results depend on the surface instead of skill

And then we sit and wonder what went wrong.

The Bigger Problem — Mindset

Honestly, this feels less like a constraint and more like a mindset issue.

• A very casual approach:Do what’s easy
• Ignore long-term impact
• Fix things later

But at this level, you don’t get that luxury.

Because people are watching.

Not just us—

The world is watching.

Final Thought

But if the surface itself starts behaving unpredictably because of poor planning, then we’re not doing justice to the game.

Cricket is not just players and teams.

The pitch is everything.

If that is not handled properly, nothing else matters.

You can market the league, promote it, hype it—