'If We Had A Pitch Like This In India': Irfan Pathan Raises Safety Concerns For Players Amid New York's Surface For T20 WC 2024

Ex-Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan blasted the pitch at New York for the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024, deeming it as unsafe for players. Pathan also stated how India would've not been allowed to host any match if the pitch had been something similar.

The matches between Sri Lanka-South Africa and India-Ireland have been quite tough for the batters. Wednesday's fixture between Ireland and India saw plenty of uneven bounce as plenty of good-length deliveries reared up suddenly to leave the batters wounded and stunned.

Speaking to Star Sports, Irfan Pathan raised safety concerns for players and believes this is not the way to promote cricket in America.

"Look, we definitely want to promote cricket in America, but this pitch is not safe for players. If we had a pitch like this in India, a match would never be played there again for a very long time. This pitch is definitely not good. I mean, we are talking about the World Cup here, not even a bilateral series."

"It is bordering on dangerous" - Andy Flower

Speaking on ESPN Cricinfo, ex-England coach Andy Flower believes the surface is nowhere acceptable as per international match standards.

"I've got to say that is not a good surface to play an international match on. It is bordering on dangerous. You see the ball bouncing on a length both ways so skidding low occasion but in the main bouncing unusually high and striking people on thumb, gloves and helmet and making life very very difficult for any batsman.