India accused of gaining ICC ‘favouritism’ in T20 World Cup scheduling

India has been accused by critics of receiving preferential treatment from the International Cricket Council (ICC) due to pre-arranged scheduling, ensuring that their semi-final would be held in Guyana if they advanced.

Former England captain Nasser Hussain acknowledged that there was a perception that everything was arranged favourably for India in their T20 World Cup 2024 semi-final, including advantageous playing conditions.

However, Hussain highlighted that India had demonstrated adaptability to various pitches in the tournament, notably securing a victory over Australia in St Lucia before advancing to the semi-finals.

"The narrative will be that everything on Thursday was geared towards India reaching the T20 World Cup final - the surface, the venue, all seemed to be in their favour. But if you look at things in greater detail, they came into this semi-final against England having just beaten 50-over world champions Australia on a bouncier, good pitch in St Lucia. and reverted to a lower, slower pitch and won comfortably,” Hussain wrote.

Criticism of the T20 World Cup schedule, particularly voiced by former England captain Michael Vaughan, centered on alleged favoritism toward India. Vaughan highlighted that all of India's matches were scheduled for morning slots, aligning with Indian broadcast preferences. He also noted that India was assigned the second semi-final in Guyana regardless of their performance in the Super 8 stage.

“Surely this Semi should have been the Guyana one… but because the whole event is geared towards India it’s so unfair on others… #T20IWorldCup,” Vaughan wrote.

After India's win against England in the semi-final, Vaughan commended India's performance but insinuated that the pitch conditions had played to their advantage.

“India thoroughly deserve to be in the final… The best team in tournament so far… Was always going to hard for England on this pitch… India just so much better on lower slower spinning pitches .. #T20IWorldCup,” he wrote.

In addressing Vaughan's critique, Sourav Ganguly questioned the notion that broadcasting schedules could impact match results, stressing that winning ultimately depended on performance on the field.

“Michael Vaughan is a very dear friend of mine. I don’t know how ICC helps India win cricket matches by keeping the broadcast at 8 pm IST in the evening. I don’t know how broadcasting wins you cricket matches. You still have to play in the middle and win,” Ganguly was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.