India vs Pakistan: Sunil Gavaskar, Harbhajan Singh slam ECB over lack of rain preparedness
Former India captain and batting great Sunil Gavaskar questioned the apparent lack of rain preparedness of England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 after rain interruption in quite a few matches.
Sunil Gavaskar, speaking to India from Old Trafford in Manchester, said the inability of the ECB to have cricket grounds fully covered is "totally unacceptable". It was pouring down in Manchester even as Gavaskar was expressing his frustration at the puddles that were being formed on the uncovered areas of the outfield.
India take on Pakistan in what is arguably the biggest match of ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 on Sunday in Manchester. However, rain threat looms large over the big-ticket encounter. With the Old Trafford ground taking a lot of water due to the rain in the lead up to Sunday, the wet patches are going to be a cause for concern if the wet weather persists.
Notably, India's World Cup 2019 match against New Zealand on Thursday was abandoned without a ball being bowled in Nottingham. There was constant drizzle throughout the duration of the match and on-field umpires had echoed their concerns over the wet patches at Trent Bridge which wasn't covered entirely as well.
"I am kind of hoping this rain goes away and the sun shines bright because the whole world is waiting for this match [India vs Pakistan]," Gavaskar told India Today on Saturday.
Gavaskar added: "Terrible (Ground not covered on Saturday). Unacceptable. This is a big tournament. You know the conditions in England and not to have that (extra covers) is absolutely unacceptable in my view. In a country like the West Indies, or in some parts of India where it hardly rains, you can understand grounds not being fully covered. However, Kolkata has got it done. Sri Lanka has it, has covers all over the ground.
"Why can't England? England often tells other countries what they should be doing in cricket. England should be the one that should have it because it rains and rains regularly. You can't have a situation where thousands of people come from different parts of the world and sit here and the game does not start."
Harbhajan Singh, who joined Sunil Gavaskar on the show, said he wasn't fully satisfied with the Old Trafford's drainage and the mud-based outfield at the iconic venue.
"There should be a game, provided how long this rain will last. If it continues to be like this, the drainage system in this ground is not that great. I was on the ground and the outfield is quite wet. A few patches are really, really bad. I hope this stops at some point today so that we can get a match tomorrow," Harbhajan Singh said.
"This is not a sand-based ground, this is proper mud-based soil (in Manchester). Once it gets wet, it will stay wet until the sun comes out. As Sunny Bhai said, they should have covered the whole ground. It happened the other day in Nottingham and in a few other matches as well."
Gavaskar wants ICC to punish ECB if India-Pakistan is washed out
Stressing that the International Cricket Council should withhold the money that ECB gets from hosting the India-Pakistan match if it gets washed out, Gavaskar said ICC should take punitive action against the host board.
Thousands of fans have reportedly travelled to Manchester from across the globe for the India-Pakistan match. Tickets for the match was sold out within minutes of ticket window opening and fans are even reportedly willing to resell their tickets.
"Well, ECB (is responsible). ECB is the one that runs the game here. The Lancashire county cricket club comes under its jurisdiction. So it's the ECB's responsibility," Gavaskar added.
"I also believe the ICC needs to tell the ECB now 'the game hasn't taken place because of negligence from your part. So you will not get that guaranteed $750,000. ECB gets $750,000 irrespective of whether a ball is bowled or not. That should not be the case. If the game doesn't start tomorrow because of this, I don't think the ICC should be giving ECB money.
"I hope people who have been trying to talk things about India and not giving India their share of the money, now look at this and put their foot down and show by example that what is good for one, should be good for everybody."
https://www.indiatoday.in/sports/cr...nchester-india-vs-pakistan-1549649-2019-06-15
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