Aakash Chopra schools Mohammad Hafeez over controversial 'World Cup being organised by ICC or BCCI' query

Hafeez's claim went viral shortly after he highlighted the issue with images of the Chennai pitch, but was schooled by former India opener Aakash Chopra.

Veteran Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez, criticising the pitches laid down for the ongoing 2023 World Cup, has posed a rather controversial question on social media, asking whether the tournament is being organised by ICC or BCCI. Hafeez's claim went viral shortly after he highlighted the issue with images of the Chennai pitch that hosted its second World Cup game on Friday, but was schooled by former India opener Aakash Chopra.

Mohammad Hafeez made a controversial statement on the Indian pitches during 2023 World Cup

On Thursday, in conversation with a Pakistan channel, PTV Sports, Hafeez reckoned that the conditions of the Chepauk pitch for the World Cup match between New Zealand and Bangladesh will decide whether the tournament is truly being organised by ICC or does BCCI have a strong influence. Later on Friday, right after the pitch report was made for the Chennai track, Hafeez shared screenshots of the track laid down for New Zealand-Bangladesh game and that between India and Australia last week, reckoning that questions will be raised on the standards of pitches being used for World Cup matches.

“At first, tomorrow the decision will be made whether the tournament is being organized by the ICC or the BCCI. Till now, there are three venues where two matches have been played – Hyderabad, Delhi, and Dharamsala. The pitch conditions were similar and it behaved similarly in both games. If the pitch is the same in Chennai, which was used for India vs Australia, then it’s understandable. But if there are slight changes, you can understand who is organizing the tournament,” said Hafeez.

“There should not be any influence, it’s an ICC tournament. It has to run as per its curators and instructions. If tomorrow's pitch’s relevance is similar and the momentum is the same, it’s understandable. But if there’s a slight change like if it’s a batting track or different conditions, this is a big question mark and that’s my statement,” Hafeez added.

The veteran cricketers later took o X to share his video and captioned it: “Two different characteristic pitches at the same venue #Chennai. Sawal tou banta hai???”

Responding to the strong claims and the questions raised, Aakash explained why pitches at the same venue act differently and added that the phenomenon will remain common at every stadium throughout the World Cup.

“Brother, the square at Chennai (and at many other stadia in India) have pitches made with different soil now. Red-Black and mixed. As you’d know…pitches made with different soil component will play differently. Therefore, don’t be surprised if the pitches behave radically different at the same venue throughout the World Cup,” he said.

According to the ICC schedule, India are the only side to not play more than one match at the same venue. They have so far played in Chennai and Delhi and have their next game against Pakistan in Ahmedabad on Saturday.