India head coach Rahul Dravid shared his assessment of the Nassau County Cricket Ground after the Men in Blue played a T20 World Cup 2024 warmup game at the venue against Bangladesh on Saturday.
India defeated Bangladesh soundly at the venue which will host the majority of Group A matches in the ICC tournament including India’s blockbuster tie against Pakistan on June 9.
Dravid, alongside players Shivam Dube and Arshdeep Singh, revealed the challenges they faced while playing on the 'modular marvel' that became the talk of the town. Dravid mentioned that the pitch was a bit soft and spungy and went on to laud the effort of the Indian team for their all-around effort.
Rahul Dravid mentioned that the soft field could tickle an issue with the players' hamstrings and calves and that was something the coaching staff was working around.
"It's great to get a good hit-out. Obviously, it looks like a good facility in terms of as quickly as they have put up. the ground is a bit soft the guys could feel that on the hamstring and the calves. So that's the area we need to ensure that we are working around and ensuring that the guys are looking after does feel a little bit heavy underneath.
A little bit spungy at times but I thought we coped really well, we managed that really well. The batters had put an above-par score on that wicket and the bowlers came out and bowled really well. All and all we got run-around and to get a game here is really nice. hopefully, we can prepare well for the next couple of days and be ready,” Dravid said in a video by BCCI.
The venue’s construction began in February 2024 and it was completed in 103 days. After the completion of stadium curation, drop-in pitches were brought from Australia.
Shivam Dube and Arshdeep Singh, who took part in the warm-up game, looked elated after getting good match practice before the actual tournament began.
"Feels good, really important how you start. We got wickets early on and did not give away runs. The wicket was helping us as well, so we tried to keep it simple and got the result as well. The ground is sand-based, so you need to get the rhythm right. It will be a challenge to adapt to the conditions here. We are adapting really well because the practice sessions were also there in the morning and everyone turned up and did their 100% there, we can see on the field as well, the way we played as a team, and it was a nice result," Arshdeep said.
"It was fun playing here, and it was good to have a win in our first warm-up game. Obviously, it's well-built. But there is a challenge for the players. It's not easy. The warm-up match is important for us to be ready once the T20 World Cup. So it was important to get used to the batting, bowling, and fielding and hence, we got a good idea after playing today and it was a different experience," Dube said.
India will begin their T20 World Cup 2024 on Jun5 against Ireland.
Here is the video:
