India's World Cup-winning cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has lashed out at former cricketers for giving importance to conspiracy theories around the pitch where World Cup 2023 semifinal between India and New Zealand was played.
Before India's 70-run win, there were reports that the Indian cricketer management had asked for a "slow pitch". The report claimed that the semifinal was to be played on a fresh pitch but a used pitch was finalised to assist Indian spinners.
However, it was Mohammed Shami who traumatised New Zealand batters with a record-breaking seven-wicket haul. On the contrary, New Zealand batters looked more comfortable against spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja.
"All those morons who have been saying about pitch change, I hope they just shut up, stop taking potshots at India. Stop talking about pitch change. It was for both teams," Gavaskar told the broadcasters after the match.
In the report, it was also mentioned that the pitch for the final at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad is also being doctored to favour the hosts.
"For God's sake the second semi-final hasn't been played and they are talking about changing pitch in Ahmedabad," Gavaskar said.
On November 15, the International Cricket Council (ICC) released a statement saying that their independent pitch consultant Andy Atkinson was consulted before any change to the pitch.
"Changes to planned pitch rotations are common towards the end of an event of this length, and have already happened a couple of times.
"This change was made on the recommendation of the venue curator in conjunction with our host," the ICC said in a statement.
"The ICC independent pitch consultant was apprised of the change and has no reason to believe the pitch won't play well," the statement further mentioned.
According to ICC's playing conditions for the World Cup, the host nation is "responsible for the selection and preparation of the pitch" and it is not mandatory to pick a fresh pitch for a semifinal.
Meanwhile, Australian captain Pat Cummins did not pay heed to the controversy ahead of the semifinal clash against South Africa at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
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