"Is it half-hearted?" - Aakash Chopra on the globalization attempt through the 2024 T20 World Cup
Aakash Chopra has questioned whether the International Cricket Council's (ICC) attempts to globalize the game are half-hearted. He noted that the 2024 T20 World Cup being staged in the West Indies and the United States of America doesn't seem to be yielding the desired results.
The ICC has been criticized for a few below-standard pitches in America and the Caribbean. They have received further flak because of abandoned games due to inclement weather and unplayable conditions, with not even a ball being bowled in the three games in Florida thus far.
With the India-Canada game in Florida on Saturday, June 15, not seeing any action, Chopra questioned whether the 2024 T20 World Cup is achieving the ICC's globalization objective.
"One more match didn't happen due to rain (wet outfield). Not even a single ball was bowled in the India vs Canada match. The last game between USA and Ireland was also abandoned. My big question is - the globalization we are trying to achieve through this World Cup, is it half-hearted? Secondly, is it happening the right way because if the matches only are not happening, how is it happening right?" he said (0:01).
The former India opener noted that games are being played at odd times and that some pitches have been virtually unplayable.
"Is it right the way this World Cup is happening? I ask you this question because at what time are the games starting - one at 6:00 AM (IST) and another at 8:00 PM (IST). Even four games are being played in a day, two in the morning and two at night. When the matches happen in New York, you don't understand the pitches and when the matches happen in Dallas, they are very late," Chopra observed.
The New York pitch received a lot of criticism from cricket experts across the globe. Canada's 137/7 against Ireland was the highest score in eight games at the venue.
"What exactly is being tried here?" - Aakash Chopra on the 2024 T20 World Cup match timings
Aakash Chopra noted that most matches are being played virtually without any spectators.
"What is exactly being tried here? Let's first talk about the timing. The matches were being started at 10:30 AM in New York, which means 8:00 PM in India. So you had to play matches at 10:30 in the morning for it to be 8:00 at night in India. When you do that, no one comes to watch and the same thing happens in the West Indies," he said (2:40).
The reputed commentator pointed out that subcontinental viewership is the only factor deciding the match timings.
"If the ground is empty, it means the tournament is happening only for the subcontinental audience, or else why would you have the match in the morning? You wouldn't do that if the tournament was being played in India, Pakistan or Sri Lanka, because you don't bother about the time in the West Indies or Australia," Chopra observed.
While acknowledging that the tournament has been expanded to 20 teams and has seen a few major upsets, with the USA making it to the Super Eights, Chopra opined that the overall globalization objective hasn't been achieved.
"It's good that you played 20 teams and one or two teams processed and a few favorites were left behind, you have done globalization that way. However, the way the matches are being played, especially with the bad pitch in New York and the storm in Florida, although you couldn't have predicted that, but it rains in the West Indies," he stated.
Chopra questioned why matches are being played at venues where the infrastructure is not ready and the weather is unknown. He added that if the intention is to spread the game, matches should be played at night to suit the local spectators and if the subcontinental audience is the target, then they need to be entirely thought about.