With Pakistan feeling disheartened ahead of their match against archrival India in the Twenty20 World Cup, recent painful memories of their shocking defeat by the United States linger. Meanwhile, mounting criticism of the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium pitch in New York, labeled “dangerous,” has prompted speculation about relocating the highly anticipated clash between India and Pakistan to another venue.
Criticism of the Nassau County track intensified after Sri Lanka managed only 77 runs in a low-scoring match against South Africa in the T20 World Cup opener, followed by an incident where India captain Rohit Sharma suffered an injury during the match against Ireland due to uneven bounce. Rohit was struck on his forearm, forcing him to retire hurt and leave the field.
Former England coach Andy Flower condemned the track, saying, “It is bordering on dangerous. From a length from both ends it was skidding along the ground with some tearing up and hitting people on the thumb, gloves, helmet.” Similarly, former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar expressed concerns about the pitch preparation, suggesting underlying issues beyond their control.
“Either the pitch has been under-prepared or something that is beyond their control,” Manjrekar remarked. “I’m sure it’s not a lack of effort. At the most what they can do is keep rolling that drop-in pitch. But they have a problem on their hands. Inherently there’s something wrong with the pace of the surface.”
Despite acknowledging the issues with the New York pitch, the ICC, in a statement, noted, “T20 Inc and the ICC recognise that the pitches used so far at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium have not played as consistently as we would have all wanted.”
