Sunil Gavaskar Hits Back At Talks About India Asking For Pitch Change At Wankhede
India and New Zealand will play semi-final at Wankhede [AP Photo]
Ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 semi-final clash between India and New Zealand talk about the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) arm-twisting International Cricket Council (ICC) to change the match-pitch at Wankhede gained momentum.
A UK-based news outlet Daily Mail, alleged that after inspection, Team India seemed displeased with the prepared pitch, following which the BCCI came into action.
Now, former India opener and captain Sunil Gavaskar has lashed out at such rumour-mongers. As quoted by India Today, Gavaskar backed India to play on any offered track and explained such a ploy is being used to make up for views in columns ahead of the semis.
Here's what Gavaskar said
"The pitch is there for all the teams, so I don't think there should be too much discussion on what this pitch will do or not do. I do believe that this Indian team is perfectly capable of handling any kind of surface.
"I think this is typically, you know, on the eve of the match when you have nothing to write about and then, you know, you try to say something because you want to fill in your columns, you want to talk about pitches and stuff like that. To me, it doesn't make a difference. If the pitch changes after the toss, they certainly have a conversation. But if the pitch is the same before the toss, I don't think any any noise should be made at all."
Meanwhile, the BCCI has squashed such claims, and stating that the ICC governs all the ground conditions, and the hosts have no say whatsoever.
 "Vishal Mehra")
