'For reasons like this...': Ashwin savagely burns WICB for causing 'unique delay' in India vs West Indies 3rd T20I
In a rare but hilarious incident, the players of both sides were forced to step off the field due to absence of markers circling the 30-yard circle.
The third T20I between India and West Indies, which is being played at the Providence Stadium in Guyana, saw a delay right before the start of play due to bizarre reason. In a rare but hilarious incident, the players of both sides were forced to step off the field due to absence of markers circling the 30-yard circle. It took the groundstaffs a couple of minutes before players could carry on before players could carry on with the proceedings. (Follow: India vs West Indies 3rd T20I Live Cricket Score)
Ravichandran Ashwin, who is not part of the T20I squad, was quick to react to it and in a tweet took a swipe at the West Indies cricket board, which has already been called out for inefficiency by the Indian players earlier in the tour.
“Unique delay! It’s not an easy place to tour for reasons like this. As a cricketer one has to be switched on all the time and always expect the unexpected," tweeted Ashwin, also congratulating Yashasvi Jaiswal for his T20I debut.
India stand-in captain Hardik Pandya had earlier slammed the arrangements during the post-match presentation after the third and final ODI, which India won by 200 runs. "Things can be better when we come to West Indies next time. From travelling to managing a lot of things. Last year also, some hiccups happened. I think it's time for West Indies Cricket to take note of it and make sure that when a team travels... We don’t ask for luxury but we need some basic necessities taken care of. Other than that, really enjoyed coming here and playing some good cricket," said Pandya.
As per reports, members of the Indian cricket team had addressed their grievances to the BCCI after a four hour delay of their late-night flight from Trinidad to Barbados, which left them sleep-deprived ahead of the ODI series.
The senior cricketers even requested the BCCI to not keep any late-night flights when there is very little gap between matches.
While Pandya didn't go into the details, Ashwin in a video shared on his YouTube channel gave a much clearer picture on the West Indies infrastructure and it's inadequacies. The carrom-ball specialist also feels that with the poor structure West Indies may find it difficult to produce quality cricketers in future.
Sharing details from what he observed, Ashwin said: "When it comes to West Indies, see, they are actually coming from different countries/islands like Antigua, Barbados, and they all represent West Indies together. So, if you ask me whether their infrastructure has developed well in all those islands? Actually, no.
"We played at the Barbados Test Center. While we practiced in the nets, there was no grass left on the surface. Their nets looked too old. I am not saying these things to blame them or anything. I actually feel really bad for them," said the spinner.
With West Indies being one of the hosts for the next edition of T20 World Cup, the cricket board will hopefully take note of the complaints raised by Indian players and conduct the showpiece event smoothly.
