Former Indian fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad strongly criticized the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) for its decision to allocate a reserve day exclusively for the India vs. Pakistan Super 4 match, despite the looming threat of rain affecting all tournament matches at Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium.
The ACC announced this decision on a Friday, stating that “if adverse weather suspends play during the Pakistan vs. India game, the match will continue on September 11, 2023, from the point at which it was suspended.”
The much-anticipated clash between these arch-rivals is scheduled for Sunday in Colombo, but weather forecasts predict thundery showers over the weekend in the Sri Lankan capital. As soon as this news reached the public, it sparked widespread criticism on social media. Prasad didn’t hold back in his condemnation of the organizers, describing the move as “utterly shameless,” a “mockery,” and “unethical.”
“If this is indeed true, it represents a blatant display of shamelessness. The organizers have turned the tournament into a mockery, and it’s morally wrong to have different rules for the other two teams,” Prasad tweeted.
Prasad didn’t stop there; he went on to express that it would be just if rain disrupted both days of the India vs. Pakistan match, preventing these “malicious plans” from succeeding. “In the pursuit of fairness, it would only be just if the match is abandoned on the first day, and may the rain pour even harder on the second day to thwart these malicious intentions,” he added.
If true this is absolute shamelessness this. The organisers have made a mockery and it is unethical to have a tournament with rules being different for the other two teams.
— Venkatesh Prasad (@venkateshprasad) September 8, 2023
In the name of justice, will only be fair if it is abandoned the first day, may it rain harder on the… https://t.co/GPQGmdo1Zx
Meanwhile, coaches for Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, the other two teams in round two, offered cautious statements. “I was a bit surprised when I first heard about it, but we’re not the organizers of the competition, so there’s not much we can do about it,” Sri Lanka coach Chris Silverwood remarked. “Honestly, it could pose a problem if the reserve day ends up benefiting certain teams and not others, but we can’t change the decision. We’ll continue to prepare and do our best.”
Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha said, “Yes, it’s not ideal; we would have appreciated having an extra day. Apart from that, I don’t have much to comment on because the technical committee has made a decision.” Hathurusingha added that he had never encountered such a situation in any other tournament. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are set to face each other in Colombo on Saturday.
