Former India cricketer Venkatesh Prasad on Saturday took to social media to vent out his anger at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and secretary Jay Shah, although he didn't take the latter's name, over the scheduling mess of the ICC World Cup 2023.
The BCCI official has been in the news for all the wrong reasons and has been receiving flak over the mismanagement and scheduling chaos of the ongoing Asia Cup and ICC World Cup 2023 which will be held in India in October-November.
BCCI Under Fire
The Asia Cup has been severely affected due to heavy rains in Sri Lanka while the World Cup is facing a shortage of tickets which have been put on sale quite late by the Indian cricket board.
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The BCCI has also rescheduled some of the matches in the tournament, including the high-profile clash between India and Pakistan in Ahmedabad, citing security issues and complaints from other boards which are sending their teams to India.
Prasad Points Out Key Issues
Prasad therefore, took to X (formerly Twitter) to criticise the BCCI and urged the board to make it easier for fans to come and watch the World Cup matches in the stadiums.
"There is no debate and doubt on the fact that we have messed up the lead up to the World Cup. Unreasonable delay in schedule in the first place and if that wasn’t enough changing the schedule hampering 5 matches in the process, if that wasn’t enough a completely non-transparent and inefficient ticket system only encouraging black marketeers.
"It is a proud moment to be hosting a World Cup and it should have been a great time for the fans but these difficulties for the fans doesn’t look unplanned . It’s time we wake up and not make this incompetence a norm just because “Yes Men” around don’t want to speak up . It is a matter of national prestige.
"We have a good team and are strong contenders for the World Cup but we need genuine fans inside the stadium cheering for the team and their experience needs to be far smoother and easier than what it has been, and for that the BCCI needs to do far better than they have done so far. It is a reflection of the country as a whole and we as a nation should not be let down at any cost," Prasad wrote in a series of tweets on X.
Prasad Takes Indirect Jibe At Jay Shah
He also pointed out Jay Shah's role in the mess that has been created by the BCCI, without taking his name in his tweet.
"It takes one corrupt, arrogant guy to take away the hardwork of an organisation that is generally non-corrupt and get a stamp of corruption on the whole leadership , not just on a micro level but at a large level," Prasad added.
He later deleted the tweet and posted a rehashed version of the earlier one:
Controversy Over Reserve Day for IND vs PAK
The former fast bowler had earlier criticised the Sri Lankan Cricket Board (SLC) for agreeing to the Asian Cricket Council's decision to have a reserve day for the India vs Pakistan Super 4 clash in Colombo, which will be played on September 10.
Notably, Jay Shah is the president of the ACC and has been taking all decisions regarding the constant venue changes in the tournament due to the weather conditions in Sri Lanka.
India's first match of the tournament against Pakistan on September 2 in Kandy was washed out due to rain which has since affected several other matches in the tournament.
More rain is forecast on Sunday and Monday in the Sri Lankan capital, which is most of the Super 4 games in the Asia Cup 2023.
