Rohit Sharma ‘doing fine’, expected to heal before Pak game

Nassau County ground's track, "bordering on dangerous with huge open cracks", becomes a concern for stakeholders

New York: Rohit Sharma‘s bruised bicep is expected to heal before the game against Pakistan on Sunday but the Nassau County ground’s track, which is “bordering on dangerous with huge open cracks”, has become a concern for stakeholders of the game trying to sell cricket in America through the ongoing T20 World Cup.

India opened their campaign with an eight-wicket win in a low-scoring match against Ireland, who were bowled out of 96 in just 16 overs. Rohit, who scored a half century in the successful chase, was hit on his right bicep by pacer Josh Little and was forced to retire hurt.

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The ball that struck him suddenly took off from length on a pitch that offered a great degree of uneven bounce. Rishabh Pant was also hit on his left elbow during his 36 not out.

“Rohit’s injury isn’t serious. He himself said that it’s a bit sore. He should be okay for Pakistan game (on Sunday) as of now. There are two practice sessions before that,” a senior BCCI source said on conditions of anonymity.

Injury scare aside, the nature of the pitch, a drop-in one brought from Adelaide specifically for the World Cup, has raised eyebrows. India are scheduled to play two more games at this stadium.

Player of the final from India’s 2007 T20 World Cup triumph, Irfan Pathan, hardly minced words as he criticised the pitch, calling it unsafe. “Look, we definitely want to promote cricket in America, but this pitch is not safe for players. If we had a pitch like this in India, a match would never be played there again for a very long time,” he said on Star Sports.

“This pitch is definitely not good. I mean, we are talking about the World Cup here, not even a bilateral series,” he asserted. Also unimpressed was former England captain Michael Vaughan.

“Trying to sell the game in the states is great.. love it.. but for players to have to play on this sub-standard surface in New York is unacceptable… You work so hard to make it to the WC then have to play on this,” he wrote on his X handle.

Rohit was bewildered by the track’s behaviour and conceded that he didn’t know what to expect from it against Pakistan. The team’s batting coach Vikram Rathour was a shade more reticent in his analysis.

“It is a challenging wicket as far as batting is concerned but this is what we have. So we need to find ways to deal with that,” Rathour said in the post-match press conference, placing the onus on his team to find ways to score.