India captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid were reportedly ‘very unhappy’ with the practice facilities provided to the Men in Blue for the T20 World Cup 2024. Except for Virat Kohli, who left for New York late Thursday evening, India’s T20 World Cup squad had already assembled for the competition, which begins on June 1.
On Wednesday afternoon, those players, as well as those on the reserves list, had their first practice session at Cantiague Park in New York, ahead of the commencement of the World Cup.
India will open their T20 World Cup campaign on June 5 against Ireland at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York. Before the opener, they will play a warm-up match against Bangladesh at the venue.
Given that India last played a T20I match in January of this year, in the home series against Afghanistan, the players attended a training session on Wednesday, using three of the venue’s six drop-in pitches.
But as per the News18 report, the Indian contingent was very unhappy and expressed their worries about the ICC’s temporary measures for providing training facilities to Team India. They were also dissatisfied with the venue’s food arrangements, which the BCCI also raised concerns about.
“Everything is makeshift – from pitches to other facilities. Safe to say everything is very average in nature. The team has raised their concerns,” a source close to developments.
ICC responds to reports of Indian team being unhappy with the facilities
When the International Cricket Council (ICC) was asked regarding the same, they responded by saying that “there has been no complaint or concern expressed regarding the practice facilities at Cantiague Park by any team”.
What remains a major concern for the Indian team is that the makeshift venue in New York will serve as their primary training ground for the majority of the league stage, as the Rohit-led side will play three group-stage matches in the city – against Ireland, Pakistan, and co-hosts the United States – before moving to Florida for their final game against Canada.
The Nassau County International Cricket Stadium lacks its training facility, hence the ICC designated Cantiague Park as an approved practice venue for teams.
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