ICC Can do a Lot Better: Gambhir on Rain Playing Spoilsport in WC

Gambhir said that the ICC should have done better to ensure the game between India and NZ could have been played.

Former opener Gautam Gambhir feels India may have missed out on thinking out-of-the-box while picking their World Cup squad.

(Photo: PTI)

After former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly blamed the International Cricket Council for their inability to counter rain-marred games in the ongoing World Cup, the same sentiment has now been echoed by former Indian batsman Gautam Gambhir.

Thursday’s game between India and New Zealand was the fourth instance in this World Cup when a match was called off due to rain and there are predictions that the India vs Pakistan game at Old Trafford in Manchester could be interrupted by rain as well.

Speaking to Star Sports in its post-match show Cricket Live, Gambhir said that the ICC should have done better to ensure that the fans could have witnessed some cricket at Trent Bridge.

“The ICC can do a lot better. The rains have stopped since the past 2-3 hours despite which the match hasn’t started. Furthermore, the rains were anticipated since the past 3 days so what could be done is the ground should have been covered since the beginning so as to avoid the match delay due to the wet outfield.”

Gautam Gambhir, Former Indian Cricketer

Incessant rain for the past three days and also on the match day meant that the ground was never ready for the India-New Zealand match to be smoothly conducted.

“The ICC needs to look into this because this is a global tournament, for an event of such stature, it is highly disappointing for the spectators and viewers to keep waiting for hours” Gambhir concluded saying.

After India play Pakistan in Manchester, they play Afghanistan and West Indies in their next two games in Southampton (22 June) and Manchester (27 June) respectively.