“This pitch is not safe for the players”: Irfan Pathan criticizes the IND vs IRE surface

New York: The Nassau County International Cricket Stadium pitch located in New York where India faced Ireland in their opening match of the T20 World Cup 2024, has come under sharp criticism from various cricket legends like Michael Vaughan and Irfan Pathan who have categorized it as unsafe for the players.

“Look, we definitely want to promote cricket in America, but this pitch is not safe for players. If we had a pitch like this in India, a match would never be played there again for a very long time. This pitch is definitely not good. I mean, we are talking about the World Cup here, not even a bilateral series,” Pathan said on Star Sports.

“Trying to sell the game in the states is great .. love it .. but for players to have to play on this sub standard surface in New York is unacceptable .. You work so hard to make it to the WC then have to play on this,” former England player Vaughan tweeted.

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Indian captain Rohit Sharma was hit on his right bicep by a delivery from Irish bowler, Josh Little on Wednesday.  Rohit had to retire hurt after scoring a 50 and at halfway stage in second innings but is expected to not miss any time out.

“Yeah, just a little sore (the arm). I said it at the toss as well. Quite unsure of what to expect from the pitch. Not aware on what it is to play like on a pitch that’s five months old,” Rohit said at the presentation ceremony after India defeated Ireland.