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Photo: PTI (tv9hindi.com)
In the first semi-final of the World Cup 2023, the teams of India and New Zealand are facing each other. This match is at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, where the pitch has come under question even before the first ball is bowled. There are reports that the nature of Wankhede’s pitch has been changed overnight and this has happened at the behest of the Indian team management. The Indian Express has written in its report that after playing a match against the Netherlands in Bangalore, Team India asked Wankhede’s pitch curator to prepare a slow track. The Mumbai curator was instructed by the Indian management to remove the grass from the pitch.
The officials of the Mumbai Cricket Association have also given information in this regard. According to him, even before reaching Mumbai, he had received a message from the Indian team to prepare a slow pitch. According to sources associated with the MCA, the message was clear that the pitch should be slow and that is why we had to remove the grass.
Did Mumbai’s pitch change overnight?
The home team usually does this. They get the pitch prepared as per their wish. But, that’s what happens when that series is bilateral. The World Cup is being played here, which is an ICC tournament and not a BCCI tournament. ICC has its own pitch curator during the World Cup. Now, at the request of the Indian team management, the mood of the Wankhede pitch in Mumbai has been changed. If the pitch has been made sloppy by removing grass from it, it is difficult to say to what extent it is justified to do so. The question is whether the ICC is aware of this?
BCCI’s response to the allegations
Questions were being raised on the BCCI regarding the match between India and New Zealand that the board has changed the pitch of the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and the match is being held on the pitch that suits the Indian team, but now the BCCI has Explanation has been given. The Indian board has said that the ICC pitch consultants live together and work closely with the Indian pitch curators. So all the allegations made are baseless.
Team India made a request before the start of the World Cup
The news is also that before the World Cup, the Indian team had requested to hold their matches on slow pitches. This is because they have a good record on slower pitches at home. Earlier, after reaching Mumbai, Team India’s head coach Rahul Dravid was the first to come to see the pitch. It is also reported that after the practice session ended, Team India also asked the curator to spray anti-dew chemical on him.
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