Former England captain Michael Vaughan slammed the International Cricket Council (ICC) for allegedly favouring India during the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024.
Reacting to the tight schedule of Afghanistan team before playing the semi-final against South Africa, the former batter said that the first semi-final should have been played between India and England.
South Africa crushed Afghanistan by nine-wicket in the first T20 World Cup 2024 semi-final in Trinidad on Wednesday (local time), sending the Proteas into their first ever final.
It was a first victory in eight short-format World Cup semi-finals going back to 1992 for South Africa.
“Surely this [Afghanistan vs South Africa] semi should have been the Guyana one .. but because the whole event is geared towards India it’s so unfair on others,” he wrote in a post on X.
In another post, Michael Vaughan pointed out that Afghanistan did not have sufficient time to adjust to the venue of the semi-final which, according to him, cost the Asian side the crucial game in Trinidad.
“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,” Vaughan wrote.
The second semi-final between India and defending champions England is scheduled in Guyana on Thursday.
However, rain is likely to spoil the game as weather forecasts predicted a 60% chance of rain.
If the game is washed out, India will qualify for the final of the tournament in Barbados on June 29 as they topped Group 1 in the Super 8 stage.
It is pertinent to mention that the fist semi-final had a reserve day, however, no such provision exists for the second one and an additional 250 minutes have been allocated by the ICC for the semi-final to be completed.
