Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has criticised the ICC after the match between India and Canada in the ongoing T20 World Cup at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground, Lauderhill, Florida, was abandoned.
Despite minimal rain on the match day, the game had to be called off due to a wet outfield. The outfield was rendered unplayable by rain earlier in the week, including on Friday, 14 June.
Although the rain stayed away on Saturday, no play was possible between India and Canada as the umpires deemed the outfield unplayable. This marks Lauderhill's third abandoned match in the current T20 World Cup. Earlier in the week, the Sri Lanka vs Nepal and USA vs Ireland games were also abandoned.
The washout led Sri Lanka to get eliminated from the T20 World Cup. Meanwhile, the second washout resulted in Pakistan's elimination from, while the USA secured their spot in the Super 8s. With all three matches in Florida were abandoned due to unplayable conditions.
The former cricketer-turned-commentator said that the ICC should not conduct games at a venue that does not have covers for the entire ground.
"ICC should not host the matches where there are no covers to cover the entire ground. You just can't cover the pitch and let the other parts of the ground get wet," said Gavaskar after the India vs Canada game was abandoned.
From Group A, India and the USA have qualified for the Super 8s, while Pakistan, Ireland, and Canada have been eliminated. India concluded their campaign in the group stage with 7 points, while the USA collected 5.
Canada, on the other hand, exited the competition with 3 points, while Pakistan and Ireland have 2 and 1 point respectively. Ireland and Pakistan are set to face each other in their final group-stage match on Sunday.
