Former Indian fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad has strongly criticized the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) following reports of a reserve day being scheduled for the India-Pakistan Super Four fixture in case of adverse weather conditions. The highly anticipated clash between the arch-rivals is set to take place on Sunday, September 10, at Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium.
Weather forecasts indicate a significant chance of rain at the venue on the scheduled day, which could disrupt the high-intensity contest between India and Pakistan. Consequently, the ACC initiated discussions with the participating teams’ governing boards to arrange for a reserve day for the match.
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Venkatesh Prasad expressed his disapproval of the ACC’s unilateral decision through his social media platform, describing it as “absolute shamelessness” and criticizing the “unethical” nature of having different rules for just two teams. He even went so far as to suggest that the tournament should be abandoned if the match is washed out on the first day and expressed hope for even heavier rain on the second day to foil such plans.
If true this is absolute shamelessness this. The organisers have made a mockery and it is unethical to have a tournament with rules being different for the other two teams.
In the name of justice, will only be fair if it is abandoned the first day, may it rain harder on the… https://t.co/GPQGmdo1Zx— Venkatesh Prasad (@venkateshprasad) September 8, 2023
Recognizing the significance of the match and the unpredictable weather conditions, the governing boards of the four teams competing in the Super Four stage collectively agreed to allocate a reserve day for the India-Pakistan encounter, which is set for Monday, September 11.
This decision comes after the group stage match between the two rivals was washed out in Kandy and India’s second fixture against Nepal was briefly interrupted by rain.
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In the context of the Asia Cup’s Super Fours, Pakistan enters the upcoming fixture on the back of a convincing seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh in their opening game. India, on the other hand, will kick off their Super Four campaign against their arch-nemesis, followed by matches against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh on September 12 and 14, respectively.
