This is a hot topic circling around the world with many unhappy after reading this; Has India changed the pitch for the Semi-Final clash against New Zealand?
This came in shortly after the tweet of Lawrence Booth, a Wisden editor, who stated that the pitch was supposed to be played on a fresh surface. However, the pitch was moved to the one where it had been already used twice.
It is understood that the ICC Pitch Curator Andy Atkinson was not informed of this and we learned that he was very upset. Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, was supposed to be played on pitch 7, the central strip of the ground which is a fresher, new surface for the first knockout game.
On the wickets that were previously played in this World Cup, the defeats for the team batting second came by heavy margins; South Africa’s 229-run win over England and India’s 302-run victory over Sri Lanka.
The host India are currently batting first against New Zealand.
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What did ICC say on India changed the pitch?
The International Cricket Council (ICC) shortly responded to the vast hatred and criticism of this situation. According to the governing board of cricket, they say that the change was not unusual. They released the following statement;
There is no ICC requirement which states that knockout fixtures must be played on fresh pitches.
Although Atkinson has been frustrated by consistent changes to pre-agreed plans throughout the tournament with a leaked email showing that the wicket for Ahmedabad in the Final will be;
“the first-ever ICC CWC final to have a pitch which has been specifically chosen and prepared to their stipulation at the request of the team management and/or the hierarchy of the home nation board.”
Throughout the tournament, there have been accusations from many that this edition of the competition is set to give India the trophy, especially as a farewell gift to Virat Kohli. As ridiculous as it sounds, the recent events may or may not support this ludicrous theory.
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