ICC ‘unbothered’ by India’s concerns over New York pitch

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is unbothered by India’s concerns over the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium pitch and indicated no plans to move any T20 World Cup 2024 matches, BBC reported on Thursday.

The unpredictable drop-in wicket in New York has become a matter of concern for many teams. Two matches have been played so far at the venue. Moreover, a total of 350 runs have been scored.

At the venue, South Africa and Sri Lanka played the first match, where the Islanders batted first and bundled out for just 77 runs. This was their lowest score in T20Is. However, in the second match India managed to bowl out Ireland for 96 runs.

Pundits and experts cristicised the New York as they raised serious concerns on the surface, however, the ICC has no contingency plans to shift the matches from New York to Florida or Texas, as per BBC.

In New York, the most anticipated Pakistan vs India match of the T20 World Cup will also be played. This match is expected to host a crowd of 32,000 or more to fill the ground.

As it is the biggest rivalry in cricket, a low-scoring encounter would not fit the stature of the match.

Due to the unpredictable bounce of the pitch, it is worth mentioning that India expressed concerns over the safety of their batters.

Dinesh Karthik, a former Indian cricketer, expressed his dissatisfaction with the New York earlier.

Karthik told Cricbuzz: “It’s not the best of pitches. T20 cricket as a format is generally tilted in favour of the batters. This one is tilted in favour of the bowlers but not for the right reasons. It is spongy and the odd one bounces over the head. Then it stays low too. Does not make for good viewing. This pitch hasn’t settled. It was made in Adelaide, kept at Miami because the weather is better there and then re-laid in New York two weeks back.”

“Drop-in pitches are new, and has done well, especially in Australia. But here it hasn’t settled. It will be a point people will be talking about ahead of the big match (India vs Pakistan) in a few days,” he said.