India’s dreams of winning their third World Cup title were shattered as they lost to Australia in the final, ending their 12-year drought for an ICC trophy. Despite their impressive performance throughout the tournament, including a convincing win over New Zealand in the semi-final, India succumbed to the brilliant bowling and fielding skills of the Australian team.
However, India’s journey to the final was marred by controversy surrounding the pitch selection. Reports suggested that the ICC head curator had accused the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) of changing the pitch for the semi-final against New Zealand.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, however, dismissed these accusations as “irrelevant.” In his column for Sportstar, Gavaskar clarified that the ICC pitch consultant was present during the pitch selection process. Only after receiving approval from the ICC, the match was played on the selected pitch. Gavaskar pointed out that the controversy was put to rest in the semi-final itself when Indian pacer Mohammed Shami took seven wickets on a pitch that was supposedly favorable for spinners.
Gavaskar further emphasized that there was no requirement in the playing conditions for fresh pitches to be used in knockout games. The fact that India’s matches were played on previously used pitches did not imply any wrongdoing. This was evident in the semi-finals, where over 725 runs were scored and a fast bowler, Shami, took seven wickets for India.
In conclusion, Gavaskar dismissed the allegations of BCCI interference in pitch selection and emphasized that the performance of the players on the field proved the fairness of the pitches.
