India and New Zealand are competing in the first semi-final of the World Cup 2023. This match is at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, where the pitch has come into question even before the first ball is bowled on it. There are reports that the nature of the Wankhede 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 the match against Netherlands in Bengaluru, the pitch curator of Wankhede was asked by Team India to prepare a slow track. The Mumbai curator was instructed by the Indian management to remove the grass from the pitch.
Information regarding this has also been given by the officials of Mumbai Cricket Association. 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 MCA, the message was clear that the pitch should be slow and that is why we had to remove the grass.
Was Mumbai’s pitch changed overnight?
Home teams usually do this. She prepares the pitch as per her wish. But, this 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 in such a situation, at the behest of the Indian team management, the mood of the Wankhede pitch in Mumbai has been changed. If the pitch has been made slow by removing grass from it, it is difficult to say to what extent it is justified in doing so. The question is also whether ICC is aware of this?
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