India vs South Africa: Sunil Gavaskar lambasts CSA for 1st T20I being abandoned

Sunil Gavaskar expressed his disappointment with Cricket South Africa (CSA) in the aftermath of the first T20I between India and South Africa being abandoned without a ball bowled on Sunday. With no result, it meant the multi-format series got off to a damp start at the Kingsmead Stadium and more importantly, cut down on India’s playing time before the T20 World Cup next year.

Former India batter and captain Gavaskar criticised CSA for failing to react in time and adequately cover the entire cricket field when the rain began before the 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,” Gavaskar said on broadcaster Star Sports.

“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.”

“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 wanted to play against some team and the match didn’t take place, mainly because the outfield was wet,” added Gavaskar.

Gavaskar praised Eden Gardens in Kolkata for taking the initiative after seeing a match called off with rain. He highlighted Sourav Ganguly’s role in ensuring the installation of a fully covered rain management system.

“What the boards need to do now is to cover the entire ground. Let’s have no excuse. There was one Test match at Eden Gardens called off 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.

CSA had said before the series that they were expecting over a billion rand ($53 million) from television rights during India’s tour, seeking some much-needed financial relief. However, incessant rain dashed those hopes as the first match was abandoned.

The second T20I match between India and South Africa will be played on 12 December (Tuesday) at 8:30 PM at St George’s Park.