ICC World Cup 2019: Sunil Gavaskar Slams England Cricket Board For Lack of Preparation of Rain

The ongoing ICC World Cup 2019 have witnessed rain playing a killjoy in as many as four games so far in the tournament in the United Kingdom. The abandonment of matches have attracted a lot of criticisms from all over the globe. Meanwhile, former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar is the latest to the addition to the long list calling out England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for their lack of preparation to tackle the unwanted rain.

Previously, in the history of the World Cups, we have seen umpires abandoning two matches. However, this edition of the World Cup have already had three games abandoned without a ball being played including the match between India and New Zealand while the game between South Africa and West Indies ended in a no-result at the Rose Bowl in Southampton.

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The washouts have triggered a lot of debates, and Sunil Gavaskar had held ECB responsible for their lack of preparation. The legendary batsman also urged ICC to penalise ECB for their negligence in keeping the ground covered to save matches from getting washouts.

“Well, ECB (is responsible). ECB is the one that runs the game here. The Lancashire County Cricket Club comes under its jurisdiction. So it’s the ECB’s responsibility,” Gavaskar said to India Today. “I also believe the ICC needs to tell the ECB now ‘the game hasn’t taken place because of negligence from your part,” he added.

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Moreover, Sunil Gavaskar also questioned why England didn’t have those extra covers on the ground, considering the rain predictions. He also drew reference that countries like Sri Lanka and India have grounds fully covered where it hardly rains to point that these kinds of negligencies are not at all acceptable.

“Terrible (ground not covered on Saturday). Unacceptable. This is a big tournament. You know the conditions in England and not to have that (extra covers) is absolutely unacceptable in my view,” he concluded.