Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has lashed out at ICC organisers due to the poor playing conditions in New York and the predicted rain forecast in Lauderhill, Florida.
Latif took to his X account (formerly Twitter) and questioned the ICC's decision to conduct matches in Florida by ignoring the rain patterns at this time of the year.
“After eight matches in New York where playing surfaces ruled the roost (Canada's 137-7 was the highest total and India's 111-3 was the highest run-chase), brace for three more washouts in Lauderhill, Florida. Not a good advert for T20 World Cup for which teams train and practice for years!,” Latif wrote on his X account.
“How can the T20 World Cup organizers ignore rain trends in Lauderhill during this period and schedule matches from 14-16 June?,” an enraged Latif added in another Tweet.
Heavy rain in Florida alerted a flood alarm in the region and it is expected to rain on all three match days – from June 14 to June 16 – including Pakistan’s encounter with Ireland. The heavy rain alert was confirmed by the official website of Lauderhill stating that, “A weather system has brought South Florida excessive rain yesterday (Tuesday) and today. It is likely to continue through Friday.”
The games of Ireland vs USA and Canada vs India are scheduled for June 14 and June 15 respectively and they are much likely to be affected by rain. These games are important for the Pakistan cricket team as the results of these matches will decide Pakistan’s fate in the T20 World Cup 2024.
Pakistan needs Ireland to win against the USA and Canada to lose against India to keep their hopes alive for the Super 8s qualification. Pakistan will then need to win by a huge margin against Ireland on June 16. However, if the rain keeps on pouring on all three days, Pakistan will head home.
- Rashid Latif
