"So unfair on others"- ICC accused of favouring Rohit Sharma and team India by Michael Vaughan

Former England captain Michael Vaughan took a dig at the International Cricket Council (ICC) over the scheduling of the T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and the USA. Michael Vaughan accused the International Cricket Council of favoring India in the semi-final schedule for the T20 tournament.

The ICC preplanned that the Rohit Sharma-led India team would play the second semifinal match regardless of their standings in the Super Eights. The International Cricket Council did not officially explain the reason behind this decision, but it is expected to have been made with Indian viewers in mind.

The first semi-final was scheduled to begin at 6 am IST on June 27, which is not ideal for Indian viewers. The second semi-final match was scheduled for 8 pm IST in Guyana on Thursday, June 27. Notably, all of India's matches in this World Cup started at 8 pm IST, while other teams played under lights.

The semi-final match between Afghanistan and South Africa had a reserve day. However, the semi-final between England and India had no such provision. The Rohit Sharma-led team will advance to the final match if the second semi-final is washed out due to their higher finish during the Super 8 group stage.

Whole Event Is Geared Towards India -Michael Vaughan

Michael Vaughan took to X (formerly Twitter) to criticize the scheduling of the T20 World Cup semifinals. Vaughan stated that the match between India and England should have been played in Trinidad instead of Guyana. He added that the scheduling seemed to favor India, which is unfair to other teams.

"Surely this Semi should have been the Guyana one .. but because the whole event is geared towards India it’s so unfair on others .. #T20IWorldCup," Vaughan wrote on X.

Surely this Semi should have been the Guyana one .. but because the whole event is geared towards India it’s so unfair on others .. #<!---->T<!---->2<!---->0<!---->I<!---->W<!---->o<!---->r<!---->l<!---->d<!---->C<!---->u<!---->p

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) J<!---->u<!---->n<!---->e<!----> <!---->2<!---->7<!---->,<!----> <!---->2<!---->0<!---->2<!---->4

Utter Lack Of Respect To Players - Michael Vaughan

Michael Vaughan stated that it was unfair for Afghanistan to play immediately after their last Super 8 match. The former England skipper highlighted the lack of preparation time due to travel delays and venue changes. He emphasized the need for adequate preparation time for teams in such crucial matches.

"So Afghanistan qualify for the WC semi winning in St Vincent on Monday night .. 4 hr flight delay on Tues to Trinidad so no time to practice or get accustomed to a new venue .. utter lack of respect to players i am afraid. you surely earn the right in a semi final to have at least 1 days preparation," Vaughan posted on Twitter.

Afghanistan opted to bat first after winning the toss in the knockout match against the Aiden Markram-led side. The Rashid Khan-led team lost wickets regularly and were bowled out for just 56 runs in 11.5 overs. It marked the lowest total in a semi-final match in the history of T20 World Cups.

The Proteas lost the wicket of Quinton de Kock to Fazalhaq Farooqi in the second over. Reeza Hendricks and Aiden Markram guided the team to chase down the target without losing any further wickets. The South African team reached the 57-run target in 8.5 overs to advance to their first World Cup final.

Also read: 'We'll be aggressive' - Jos Buttler issues warning to Rohit Sharma's India ahead of semi-final clash