The Group A match of the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup between India and Canada has been called off without a ball being bowled due to a wet outfield at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground on Saturday.
Saturday’s clash is also the third straight time a match in this tournament at Lauderhill has been abandoned after Sri Lanka-Nepal and Ireland-USA clashes faced the same fate. Former India cricketers Sunil Gavaskar and Sanjay Manjrekar were extremely unhappy over the ground not being fully covered during the broadcast and strongly recommended in unison that a provision be made in ICC tournaments regulations about venues to be fully covered in case of inclement weather.
When the teams arrived at the venue, the outfield was still wet, with some soggy spots in and around the 30-yard circle. Covers were still firmly on the square under gloomy skies at the venue, which witnessed some early morning rain and had scattered thunderstorms predicted for the entire day, leading to a delay in the scheduled coin toss.
A pitch inspection was scheduled for 8 pm IST and on-field umpires Richard Kettleborough and Sharfuddoula were seen inspecting the ground and talking to the ground staff. Another inspection was scheduled for 9 pm IST, with super soppers and three to four massive hairdryers deployed to dry the damp areas on the outfield.
By 9:03 pm IST, the umpires inspected the ground again and spoke to the head of ground staff and match referee Andy Pycroft, following which teams were seen shaking hands, which signalled the abandonment of the match.
The result also means that India, the 2007 champions, sign off unbeaten from Group A with seven points from four games and will now turn their focus towards their first Super Eight game against Afghanistan at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on June 20.
The abandonment has also led to Canada replacing 2009 champions Pakistan at the third spot in the Group A points table. Pakistan, who are already out of the competition, will have to win their last match against Ireland at Lauderhill on Sunday to finish third in the group.