T20 WC 2024: Team India Not Happy With ‘Soft & Spongy’ New York Ground; Rahul Dravid Says Players Felt It On Their ‘Hamstring & Calves’

India head coach Rahul Dravid said the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium was a bit soft and spongy, adding that is effects could be felt by the players on their hamstring and calves. Dravid’s comments come after India defeated Bangladesh by 60 runs in their lone warm-up match ahead of their men’s T20 World Cup.

India posted 182/5 in their allotted 20 overs, with Rishabh Pant top-scoring with a fluent 53 off 32 balls. In reply, Bangladesh were restricted to 122/9, with Arshdeep Singh and Shivam Dube taking two wickets each.

“It’s great to get a good hit-out. Obviously, it looks like a really good facility in terms of as quickly as they have put up. The ground is a little bit soft and the guys could feel that on the hamstring and the calves.”

“So, that’s the area we need to ensure that we are working around and ensuring that the guys are looking after it does feel a little bit heavy underneath. Little bit spongy at times but I thought we coped and managed that really well.”

“We batted and put what we thought was an above par score on that wicket. Then came out and bowled really well. All in all, we got a good run-around after practising for three days and to get a game here is really nice. Hopefully, we can prepare well for the next couple of days and be ready for the fifth,” said Dravid in a video posted by the BCCI.

Arshdeep, all set to play in his second men’s T20 World Cup, felt bowlers need to get their rhythm right as the stadium is built on sand-based soil. “It feels good, really important how you start. We got wickets early on and did not give away runs. The wicket was helping us as well, so we tried to keep it simple and got the result as well.”

“The ground is sand-based, so you need to get the rhythm right. It will be a challenge to adapt to the conditions here. We are adapting really well because the practice sessions were also there in the morning and everyone turned up and did their 100% there, that we can see on the field as well, the way we played as a team, and it was a nice result,” he said.

Dube felt it was fun for him to play on a drop-in pitch at New York. “It was fun playing here, and it was good to have a win in our first warm-up game. Obviously, it’s well-built. But there is a challenge for the players, as it’s not easy to play here.”

“The warm-up match is important for us to be ready for the T20 World Cup. So it was important to get used to it in batting, bowling and fielding and hence, we got a good idea after playing here and it was a different experience,” he said.

India will open their Men’s T20 World Cup campaign on June 5 against Group A opponents Ireland in New York, followed by a highly-anticipated clash against Pakistan on June 9 at the same venue. India will then face co-hosts USA on June 12 in New York, before going to Florida to take on Canada on June 15 to wrap up their Group A league matches.