Although it’s anticipated that Rohit Sharma’s damaged bicep will recover before Sunday’s match against Pakistan, the track at the Nassau County stadium has grown unsafe.
The Nassau County ground’s track, which is “bordering on dangerous with huge open cracks,” has become a concern for cricket stakeholders trying to sell the game in America through the ongoing T20 World Cup. Rohit Sharma’s bruised bicep is expected to heal before the match against Pakistan on Sunday. India began their campaign against Ireland, who were bowled out of 96 in just 16 overs, with an eight-wicket victory in a low-scoring encounter. Following a successful pursuit, Rohit achieved a half century. However, pacer Josh Little struck him on the right bicep, forcing him to retire injured.
On a pitch that provided a significant amount of uneven bounce, the ball that struck him unexpectedly took off from length. In addition, during his 36-run innings, Rishabh Pant took a blow on his left elbow. It’s a little sore, he admitted. As of right now, he ought to be fine for the Pakistan match (on Sunday). Before that, there are two practise sessions “On condition of anonymity, a top BCCI source said with PTI.
Aside from the injury scare, others are questioning the pitch’s characteristics because it was brought in specially for the World Cup from Adelaide. Two additional games for India are slated to take place at this stadium.
Irfan Pathan, the player of the final from India’s 2007 T20 World Cup victory, was very blunt in his criticism of the surface, labelling it unsafe.
“Look, we really want to grow cricket in America, but players shouldn’t be playing on this surface. A match would never be played in India again for a very long time if we had a pitch like this,” he stated on Star Sports.
“It’s clear that this pitch is inadequate. We are discussing the World Cup here, he said, not even a bilateral series.
Michael Vaughan, the former captain of England, was equally unimpressed.
“Selling the game in the US is excellent, but players in New York should not have to play on such a subpar surface… “You work so hard to get to the World Cup, then you have to play on this,” he wrote on his X handle.
Rohit was perplexed by the track’s behavior and admitted that he wasn’t sure what to anticipate from it against Pakistan. Vikram Rathour, the team’s batting coach, was a bit more reserved in his comments.
“It’s a difficult pitch to bat on, but that’s what we got. So we need to find methods to deal with that,” Rathour stated in the post-match press conference, emphasizing the importance of his squad finding ways to score.
The ICC has not responded to the criticism, and the Indian team management is unlikely to submit a formal protest. However, the unhappiness is evident regarding the characteristics of the track, which, according to several who witnessed, is “unfit for T20 cricket” and “bordering on dangerous”.
It’s a really new pitch, in fact. There is a grass cover, but there are large fissures in it as well. Thus, it will take off from length while still seaming. As with beta testing a new program, you initially test out a few games when you have a fresh track like this, the insider clarified.
“After that, you put it on the market. After seeing the track firsthand after the game, another insider stated, “It is not a T20 wicket and all four tracks look the same.”
Rollers might smooth out the kinks, but these pitches are known to take a while to settle in for hitting.
Even Arshdeep Singh’s fiercest supporters couldn’t have predicted that his deliveries would shoot off like surface-to-air missiles, despite the fact that Indian pacers practically toyed with a very good T20 team like Ireland.
“It is good that Rohit and Rishabh (Pant) did not suffer any significant injuries. They’re alright,” the insider said.
Harry Tector of Ireland, however, was required to have a concussion test after Jasprit Bumrah’s wicked snorter struck his gloves, flushed on the helmet, and then hit Virat Kohli during the catch.
The ICC has very explicit guidelines regarding pitch quality. The track’s total rating would decrease if an evaluation was conducted after the competition and determined to be below par.
