Ahead of the India vs New Zealand Cricket World Cup semi-final, there have been stories that the pitch for the sport on the Wankhede Stadium was modified on the final second. The stories alleged that although a contemporary strip was ready for the Cricket World Cup semi-final, the match lastly came about on an ‘used floor’. After Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and Mohammed Shami guided India to the Cricket World Cup 2023 closing with a win over New Zealand, legendary India batter Sunil Gavaskar fumed over the rumours and rubbished any such recommendations. The International Cricket Council (ICC) issued a press release concerning all the incident.

“Changes to planned pitch rotations are common towards the end of an event of this length, and have already happened a couple of times. This change was made on the recommendation of the venue curator in conjunction with our host,” the ICC mentioned in a press release.

After the Cricket World Cup semi-final, Shubman Gill was requested in regards to the incident and his response was fairly humorous. “Mujhe toh abhi pata laga pitch ke upar koi controversy hui thhi. Aapne hi bataya abhi. Kya controversy hui thi (I just got to know from you that there was some controversy over the pitch. What was the controversy”)?, Gill mentioned within the publish match press convention.

Shubman Gill pic.twitter.com/Pv4D0ftuNr

— Sahil (@vkrightarmquick) November 15, 2023

Regarding the incident, the ICC additionally mentioned Atkinson, its impartial pitch marketing consultant, was conscious of the change.

“The ICC independent pitch consultant was apprised of the change and has no reason to believe the pitch won’t play well,” mentioned the ICC.

As per the ICC’s Playing Conditions for the World Cup, the host affiliation is “responsible for the selection and preparation of the pitch” and there’s no requirement {that a} knockout match have to be performed on contemporary pitches.

With PTI inputs