Rahul Dravid praises ICC’s efforts to promote cricket in USA; defends early starts and poor pitches for T20 World Cup 2024

Rahul Dravid, former Indian cricket team head coach, and legendary batter, has defended the ICC’s decision to host the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 matches in the USA despite heavy criticism about the pitches and the distance of the New York venue from the team hotels and timings.

Addressing criticisms about the early start of the matches and suboptimal facilities used in New York, Florida, and Texas, Dravid emphasized that these adjustments were necessary to expand cricket's global footprint.

Rahul Dravid defends T20 World Cup 2024's US leg over criticism of pitches and timings

Dravid, who guided India to its first ICC title in over a decade by winning the T20 World Cup 2024, co-hosted by the USA and the West Indies, admitted that the early 10:30 AM starts, infrastructure, and conditions of the venues were not ideal, but said that these compromises were needed to introduce cricket to new audiences and build a fan base in the USA.

Actually, the decision to schedule T20 World Cup 2024 matches at 10:30 AM local time was partially to attract a massive audience in the subcontinent, where cricket enjoys immense popularity.

However, this decision drew criticism, as many felt that American fans were not attracted much due to the timings, but Dravid highlighted they had to strike a balance between global outreach and local preferences.

Well, Dravid asserted that hosting the event in the US was a significant milestone. Notably, the inclusion of the USA as a venue for the recent T20 World Cup 2024 was seen as a strategic move to promote the game in this region, as cricket was included in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

I didn’t mind the 10:30 game: Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid said in a panel discussion on ‘Cricket at the Olympics: Dawn of a New Era’ in Paris: “Yes, in terms of facilities, it’s challenging. But if you want to grow the sport and make it a global game, then you have to be at events like this and make compromises, even if it means playing at odd hours in conditions that might not necessarily be perfect. I don’t think starting at 10:30am was a problem for me, honestly. We are in the entertainment business, which caters to people who want to watch the sport. I had absolutely no problem with it.”

The 2024 T20 World Cup-winning coach added, “As a coach, the conditions were quite even because dew becomes a factor in a lot of day-night games. The toss can become a big factor, as we saw in Australia. But for 10:30, it was not a problem; it was even-steven for both teams. From a coaching perspective, I didn’t mind the 10:30 game.”

In the end, Dravid hailed the ICC for its great efforts to take the game to the USA and expose the audience to the game. He added that there is a huge passion for the game in the USA, and it was really nice to play in the USA, and even some of the games were packed.