In ICC events, you don’t want games to be washed out or teams not playing: Wasim Jaffer

The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup was expected to be a thriller as a couple of underdog teams had made their way to the Super 12 and had put up some brilliant performances. But things did not go as planned for either the players or the fans of a few teams as this year’s event witnessed multiple games being washed out due to the Australian weather conditions.

So far in the tournament, plenty of matches have been affected by rain, and three crucial fixtures were abandoned without a ball being bowled. Wasim Jaffer, former India cricketer, was of the opinion that though the ICC can not do much about this, the Australian board could have decided on different venues for the games scheduled at MCG and Hobart, where there usually is heavy rain at this time of the year.

While speaking on BatBricks7 Presents Run Ki Runneeti show on CricTracker, Jaffer emphasized on the topic and said:

“Melbourne and Hobart have rains this time of the year, and the weather is too cold because we have seen how players cover themselves with warm clothes in the dugout. So the games that were scheduled at Hobart and Melbourne could have probably been shifted to other venues, maybe Brisbane or Adelaide where there aren’t many signs of rain. But World Cups are announced a lot earlier.”

“So you can’t obviously change it at the last minute because there are other programs going around throughout the year. I don’t think ICC could have done that. The ICC events are announced well in advance. The Australian board could have scheduled all these games in Brisbane or maybe Adelaide so we would have had a full game because in ICC events, you don’t want the games to be washed out or the teams not playing,” he added.

Teams that could have been out are still in the tournament: Jaffer

He also mentioned that there are teams who work hard in order to make their way into the Super 12, with the hopes of winning the world cup, but weather conditions not supporting them causes an upset. The T20 World Cup 2022 was an opportunity for Afghanistan to play at the MCG, but their game was washed out and abandoned.

“Teams like Afghanistan- when do they get a chance to play at the MCG? Both their games were washed out. Getting an opportunity like that is rare. It causes an upset, as sometimes you lose out on those two points. Teams that could have been out are still in the tournament. The staging of the venues could have been better,” Jaffer concluded.

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