T20 World Cup 2024: New York’s ‘average’ practice facilities bother Rohit Sharma and co. – Report

Team India currently train at the Cantiague Park in New York but their T20 World Cup fixtures in the city will be held at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium.

Team India practices at the Cantiague Park in New York for the T20 World Cup 2024. (Photo – PTI)

New Delhi: The Indian cricket team is reportedly miffed with the “average” practice facilities provided to them by the ICC for the upcoming showpiece – the T20 World Cup 2024. As the better part of the team has reached New York and has started practicing, there have been reports of Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid having some concerns over the “makeshift” facilities, notably due to the country’s unfamiliarity with the game.

According to a News18 report, the Men in Blue are unhappy with the practice facilities being provided in the USA, one of the hosts of the marquee event. “Everything is makeshift – from pitches to other facilities. Safe to say everything is very average in nature. The team has raised their concerns,” a source told the website.

The report also added that head coach Rahul Dravid is not pleased with the “average” facilities provided and that even the food arrangements were below par. When reached out to the ICC over the issue, the cricket governing body said, “There has been no complaint or concern expressed regarding the practice facilities at Cantiague Park by any team.”

India schedule for T20 World Cup 2024

The team currently trains at Cantiague Park, east of New York which is five miles away from Nassau County where they will play three out of the four scheduled group stage games, including the highly anticipated Pakistan clash on June 9. The newly built stadium in the county is makeshift and does not have any practice pitches, a reason why ICC designated Cantiague Park as the training venue for teams which have matches in New York.

Team India held their first practice session on Wednesday and used three of the six drop-in pitches that are available – two for batters and one for bowlers.

The Rohit Sharma-led side will play a warm-up fixture against Bangladesh on June 1 ahead of their campaign opener against Ireland on June 1 – both at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York. They will take on arch-rivals Pakistan on June 9 and co-hosts USA on June 12, at the same venue. They will move to Lauderhill, Florida to take on Canada on June 15.