"BCCI mandate": DC coach Hemang Badani drops truth bomb on Delhi’s 'unpredictable' pitches in IPL 2026

Delhi Capitals have won just one of five home games at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Kuldeep Yadav's poor form compounds DC's growing list of problems this season. Hemang Badani admits Delhi Capitals are lost at home as Jaitley pitches keep throwing surprises Delhi Capitals head coach Hemang Badani has acknowledged that his side have simply not been able to figure out what kind of pitch they will be greeted with each time they return to the Arun Jaitley Stadium in IPL 2026.

For a team desperately chasing a playoff spot, losing four of five matches on your own turf is difficult to explain away. The range of surfaces Delhi have encountered at home this season borders on the surreal. Against Punjab Kings, they batted on a flat, true deck and still lost, despite posting 264 runs.

Two days later, against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the pitch moved sharply off the seam. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood tore through the Delhi batting lineup, dismissing them for a humiliating 75 in just over 16 overs. MORE: 'How is DC a serious cricket team?

': Hemang Badani slammed for poor decisions as Delhi Capitals lose to CSK in IPL 2026 Then on Tuesday against Chennai Super Kings, they ran into something altogether different again: a slow, turning surface where the ball gripped and stopped, bringing CSK's spinners Akeal Hosein and Noor Ahmad directly into the game. Delhi won the toss, chose to bat, hoping conditions would deteriorate for the team chasing, and were proven completely wrong as Sanju Samson guided CSK home with eight wickets in hand. What did Hemang Badani say about Delhi pitches?