"If we had a pitch like this in India, a match would never be played there again" - Irfan Pathan after India vs Ireland T20 World Cup encounter
Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan was left baffled by the nature of the pitch at the Nassau County Cricket Club for the T20 World Cup 2024 encounter between India and Ireland on Wednesday, June 5. The pitch played tricks throughout the game, with the ball bouncing unexpectedly high from a good length, hitting batters from both sides on the arm and elbow.
Pathan couldn't believe that a top-tier ICC event like the T20 World Cup had such sub-standard pitches that were dangerous to the safety of the players. He claimed that had such a pitch been made in India, the venue would have been suspended from hosting games for a long time.
Irfan Pathan told Star Sports after the game (quoted as saying by PTI):
"Look, we definitely want to promote cricket in America, but this pitch is not safe for players. If we had a pitch like this in India, a match would never be played there again for a very long time. This pitch is definitely not good. I mean, we are talking about the World Cup here, not even a bilateral series."
Rohit Sharma was retired hurt after a ball bounced from a good length and hit him around the right shoulder. Rishabh Pant was also in some pain as a ball bounced unevenly and hit his elbow.
Rohit Sharma on the pitch after India's win
In the post-match presentation ceremony, Rohit Sharma gave an update about the reason for being retired hurt and confirmed that the area where he got hit was just sore.
He also claimed that the unexpected nature of the drop-in pitch was the main reason behind the Men in Blue deciding to bowl first after winning the toss.
"Yeah, just a little sore (the arm). I said it at the toss as well. Quite unsure of what to expect from the pitch. Not aware on what it is to play like on a pitch that’s five months old. I don’t think the wicket settled down even when we batted second. There was enough for the bowlers," he stated.
India have made a fantastic start to their T20 World Cup campaign with an eight-wicket win over Ireland. The Irish were bundled out for just 97 and the Men in Blue's batting was just too powerful to be challenged by that kind of a total.