Rahul Dravid Criticizes Practice Facilities in New York for T20 World Cup
India coach Rahul Dravid highlights issues with practice facilities in New York for the T20 World Cup, calling it "strange" to practice in a park. Read more about his concerns and the conditions in New York.
Dravid also felt the buzz for the World Cup was missing in New York and hoped it would catch on once their games begin.
On a day when the drop-in pitches for the Twenty20 World Cup came under fire, India coach Rahul Dravid took a dig at the practice facilities provided for the global championship. "It's a bit strange to be practicing in a park," Dravid remarked. Teams playing in New York have had to train at Cantiague Park, about five miles from the main ground, a situation that clearly did not amuse Dravid.
"Obviously at the World Cups you'd be in big stadiums or you'd be at cricket stadiums traditionally. But you know, we're at a public park and practicing," Dravid, who has played in three World Cups and coached the India side in the last three ICC events, said, flashing a smile that smacked more of sarcasm than amusement.
Facilities in Focus
Suddenly, the facilities in New York, which will host eight of the 16 World Cup games allotted to the US, have come into focus. The International Cricket Council (ICC) built a temporary stadium, and on Monday, Sri Lanka was bundled out for 77 against South Africa, who also struggled before knocking off the target.
Damian Hough, in charge of the drop-in pitches, had predicted the surfaces to be like any other Twenty20 wicket. "We are excited to see the arrival of the pitches here in New York. We're now focused on bedding in the pitches here in New York to ensure we're delivering an end product of the highest quality," Hough, who is also the head curator of Adelaide Oval, said in a statement released through the ICC last month.
Pitch Criticism
The pitch received widespread disapproval, with Sanjay Manjrekar posting a comment on social media that seemed to capture the general sentiment. "Pitch of the 80s & batters of the 2020s. Not a good union," Manjrekar wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Absence of Buzz
Dravid did not miss the absence of buzz around New York, where India will play three games, and hoped the situation would improve once the games start. "Yeah, obviously it's slightly different. It's obviously exciting that it's coming to a new country, it's coming to a new place. (It) feels slightly different in terms of, I guess, typically the buzz that you have around these events, with cricket not being one of the major sports in this country. So you don't feel that kind of buzz over here. But hopefully once our games start and a lot of the Indian fans do start coming in, you start seeing that similar kind of excitement.
"So things are certainly different from that perspective. But yeah, I think from a preparation perspective and from what we want to get out of it, I don't think that's changed, our preparation, our professionalism, the way we are trying to approach things. It's pretty, pretty similar to what we would normally do."
This shift in venue to a non-traditional cricketing nation has brought unique challenges. As Dravid and his team adjust, fans hope the excitement and quality of the T20 World Cup will not be compromised.
Stay tuned for more updates as India prepares for their World Cup journey in the Big Apple.
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