Indian cricket icon Sunil Gavaskar exploded at Cricket South Africa (CSA) after an abandoned opening match between India and South Africa due to persistent rain.
Why Sunil Gavaskar fumed at Cricket South Africa (CSA)
India’s tour of South Africa commenced on a disappointing note as the series opener match was called off without a ball being bowled at the Kingsmead Stadium in Durban on Sunday. After the washout, former Indian Cricketer Sunil Gavaskar expressed his frustration by questioning the arrangements of CSA.
On Sunday, the toss was initially delayed and the match officials waited patiently for a long. But the rain gods did not smile till the extended hours. Both the sides kept waiting in the dressing Gavaskar fumed at the fact that the ground except the pitch was left uncovered during this long wait. While speaking to Stars Sports, he showed no mercy to the CSA mentioning that every board might not have much money like BCCI but they have enough money to buy covers at least.
After a confident series clinch against the Aussies, the Men in Blue were all set to face the Proteas at their den. Suryakumar and his company have got a major boost as veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and opener Shubman Gill joined the Indian side after an interval. This series seems to be an important one for both sides before the T20 World Cup next year. Abandonment of any game at such a crucial stage is of much despair not only for the players but also for the cricket fans.
Gavaskar praises Ganguly
Sunil Gavaskar made a special mention of former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly implementing a fully covered ground management system during his tenure at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens. The former president, Sourav, left no stone unturned in taking the necessary steps for a single match. “Sourav Ganguly was the man in charge and he made sure that nobody could point finger at Eden Gardens,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.
Presently, the former Indian skipper, Ganguly, is serving as the director of cricket for Delhi Capitals. His contribution to Indian Cricket, both as a player and a skipper, has left a remarkable mark on the sport. Apart from scoring over 18,500 runs in 424 matches for India, he played a significant role in shaping a young Indian side that bagged the World Cup later under Dhoni’s leadership.
Gavaskar recaptures the 2019 World Cup
Legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar provided another example of the ODI World Cup 2019 where similar incidents took place leading to no play. In Nottingham, the English weather prevented India’s crucial match against the Blackcaps resulting in points sharing for each side. The 2019 World Cup witnessed four matches being called off due to incessant rain. Teams had to share points for the games being unplayed which affected the points table somehow.
On this particular note, Gavaskar stated, “So many World Cup matches in England did not take place because the ground was not covered. The rain had stopped, but the rest of the ground was, you know, wet. So a lot of teams lost points. South Africa, I remember that they wanted to play against some team and the match didn’t take place or something had happened, mainly because the outfield was wet.”
Apart from these, the match officials of WC 2019 had to reduce overs in a few matches as per the DLS method due to showers. The semi-final between India and New Zealand was pushed to a reserve day where the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method was also used to cut down overs.
