Allegations of pitch tampering between India and New Zealand have surfacedin the first semi-final of the World Cup. In response, the InternationalCricket Council has stated its position.
It emphasized that pitch changes are common practice in such lengthyevents. The media had previously reported that the Indian board altered thepitch at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in favor of the side hosting thesemifinal.
British media also accused the ICC of allowing the Indian board to changethe pitch for the crucial semi-final match without proper authorization.The ICC clarified that pitch changes are within the knowledge of the pitchconsultant.
It’s worth noting that changes to pitches before semi-finals are made basedon the host country’s recommendations. The International Cricket Councilasserted that the pitch alteration was in line with the advice of the ICC’spitch consultant.
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Prior positions from the BBC indicated that changes were made followingsuggestions from the Gujarat Cricket Association, while the associationclaimed they followed direct instructions from the ICC.
British media had earlier revealed that the host side selected aspinner-friendly pitch to assist their spinners, using pitch number 7,which hadn’t been used before, for the semi-final.