Legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar showed no mercy to Cricket South Africa (CSA) after Team India's series opener against the Proteas was called off due to persistent rains in Durban on Sunday. After recording an impressive 4-1 win over Australia, Suryakumar Yadav's Team India arrived at the Kingsmead Stadium for the first encounter of their multi-format tour to South Africa. A tour that promises to be a lifesaver for Cricket South Africa (CSA), kicked off with the first match abandoned without a ball being bowled at Kingsmead.
Mainly from TV rights, CSA is expected to earn more than a billion rand ($53 million) with India touring the rainbow nation. Pholetsi Moseki, who is the chief executive of CSA had asserted that the India series will 'obviously help' the Proteas board in balancing the books. However, the rain gods at Durban provided India with a rainy start to their South Africa tour and batting legend Gavaskar was miffed at CSA’s preparations for the series opener.
'They might not have as much money as the BCCI'
Launching an on-air attack on the CSA, former India skipper Gavaskar slammed the Proteas cricket board for not covering the entire cricket field when rain greeted the venue prior to the traditional coin toss. "If the ground remains uncovered and the rain stops, you know it doesn't start for another one hour. Suddenly it rains again. So there's no play whatsoever. Everybody (cricket boards) is getting a lot of money. Let's make no mistake. All the cricket boards have got plenty of money. If they say they don't, they are lying. They might not have as much money as the BCCI. Fair enough. But every board has got money to buy these covers to cover the entire ground," Gavaskar told Star Sports.
What happened in 2019 World Cup
{{/usCountry}}Launching an on-air attack on the CSA, former India skipper Gavaskar slammed the Proteas cricket board for not covering the entire cricket field when rain greeted the venue prior to the traditional coin toss. "If the ground remains uncovered and the rain stops, you know it doesn't start for another one hour. Suddenly it rains again. So there's no play whatsoever. Everybody (cricket boards) is getting a lot of money. Let's make no mistake. All the cricket boards have got plenty of money. If they say they don't, they are lying. They might not have as much money as the BCCI. Fair enough. But every board has got money to buy these covers to cover the entire ground," Gavaskar told Star Sports.
What happened in 2019 World Cup
{{/usCountry}}Batting icon Gavaskar also recalled how the notorious weather in England left everyone frustrated at the 2019 World Cup. The 2019 World Cup witnessed the highest number of abandoned or no-result games due to rain in a single edition of the competition. Sri Lanka's two World Cup 2019 matches against Pakistan and Bangladesh were abandoned without the toss due to rain. South Africa's clash with the West Indies had no result at the England and Wales World Cup.
Gavaskar recalls World Cup nightmare
India's crucial match against New Zealand was also washed out in Nottingham. The semi-final meeting between India and New Zealand turned out to be a rain-marred encounter in Manchester. "So many World Cup matches in England did not take place because the ground was not covered. The rain had stopped, but the rest of the ground was, you know, wet. So a lot of teams lost points. South Africa, I remember that they wanted to play against some team and the match didn't take place or something had happened, mainly because the outfield was wet," Gavaskar continued.
Reserves special praise for Ganguly
Gavaskar also gave former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly a special mention. As of May 2023, Kolkata's Eden Garden is the only stadium in India to have a fully covered rain management system."What the boards need to do now is to cover the entire ground. Let's have no excuse. I remember I think there was one Test match at Eden Gardens called where there was some problem at the game didn't start. Next game, Eden Gardens had the entire ground covered. That is the kind of initiative that you want to have. Sourav Ganguly was the man in charge and he made sure that nobody could point the finger at Eden Gardens," Gavaskar added.