'Can't Give Excuse that You Don't Have Money for Covers': Gavaskar Lambasts ICC for Poor Resources in Flori

Sunil Gavaskar reacts to T20 World Cup games in Florida getting washed out

The venue in Florida didn’t have enough resources to cover the entire play area. Only the pitch and the square were covered on Saturday morning.

The Central Broward Regional Park Stadium in Lauderhill, Florida was scheduled to host four fixtures of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024. However, rain and thunderstorms have had the last laugh on three occasions while the last encounter – Pakistan vs Ireland – is to get underway on Sunday. Interestingly, one of the abandoned games featured India and the USA, on Saturday, which was called off not due to immediate rain but a wet outfield after overnight showers.

It was learned that the venue didn’t have enough resources to cover the entire play area. Only the pitch and the square were covered on Saturday morning while the outfield received a lot of water from the overnight showers.

The match officials conducted two inspections before calling off India’s final Group A. Legendary Indian batter Sunil Gavaskar expressed his frustration over the lack of covers, stating that ICC shouldn’t conduct World Cup matches at a venue which isn’t equipped properly to fight right and wet outfield.

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“My request to the ICC is to ensure there is cover for the entire ground if there is an ICC match. If the venue doesn’t have the covers, don’t give it to that venue. Give it to a ground that has got all covers,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.

“It’s something that the ICC needs to do. All the ground organisations have to have covers that cover the entire ground. This business of covering only the square everybody has got money now.

Further lashing out at the ICC, Gavaskar said the global cricket body should take care of such things as it directly affects the people who arrive at the venue to watch the cricketing superstars in action.

“You can’t give the excuse that you don’t have money for covers. However, good your ground drainage system is, you have covers, the grounds will dry faster. People will get to see some cricket. It’s so important for that important. We saw all those guys come from Tampa, Texas. They have travelled long. Here in America, where do they get to see so many top-class players?

“Give them the opportunity. So get the covers for the entire ground. Everybody can do that,” he said.

Earlier, the USA’s game against Ireland on Friday was also washed out due to rain in Florida on Friday which impacted Pakistan’s campaign in the ongoing tournament. Babar Azam & Co were knocked out of the T20 World Cup in the group stage.

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