India head coach Rahul Dravid has said that he feels strange in the USA where the Men in Blue will play all of their Group A matches in the T20 World Cup 2024. India will begin their T20 WC on June 5 against Ireland in New York,

Then they will face Pakistan on June 9 at the same venue, before clashing with the USA as well. India’s final group match against Canada will be in Florida.

The ICC's decision to hold the showpiece event on American soil, particularly in New York, was daring. They did, in fact, book three India games in the city, including one against Pakistan, in an attempt to bring some much-needed glamour to the event. However, the decision does not appear to be paying off well.

Because cricket is not one of the most popular sports in the United States, the lack of excitement that typically surrounds an ICC event can be felt strongly.

“Yeah, obviously it’s slightly different. It’s exciting that it’s coming to a new country, it’s coming to a new place. (It) feels slightly different in terms of, I guess, typically the buzz that you have around these events, with cricket not being one of the major sports in this country. So you don’t feel that kind of buzz over here. But hopefully, once our games start and a lot of the Indian fans do start coming in, you start seeing that similar kind of excitement,” Dravid said at the pre-match conference.

“So things are certainly different from that perspective. But yeah, I think from a preparation perspective and from what we want to get out of it, I don’t think that’s changed, our preparation, our professionalism, the way we are trying to approach things. It’s pretty similar to what we would normally do,” he added.

Dravid also criticized the training facilities in the United States. Teams playing in New York had to train at Cantiague Park, which is around five miles from the stadium. Though the team's effort stays constant, the atmosphere of a major event is conspicuously absent in the States.

“It’s a bit strange to be practicing in a park. Obviously, at the World Cups, you’d be in big stadiums or you’d be at cricket stadiums traditionally. But you know, we’re at a public park and practicing,” the India coach remarked.

India will play Ireland at the Nassau County International cricket ground, which has received flak as Sri Lanka was bowled out for 77 against South Africa in the first match ever at the venue.

(ANI inputs)