Nasser Hussain, Ganguly responds to 'bias' talks for India in T20 World Cup 2024

India has faced criticism over alleged favoritism from the International Cricket Council (ICC) due to pre-decided scheduling, ensuring their semi-final would be in Guyana if they qualified.

Former England captain Nasser Hussain acknowledged perceptions that everything seemed set for India in their T20 World Cup 2024 semi-final, including favorable conditions, but pointed out India had previously adapted to different pitches, notably defeating Australia in St Lucia before the semi-final.

"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 extended to the tournament schedule, notably from former England captain Michael Vaughan, who criticized the perceived bias favoring India. He pointed out that all of India's matches were scheduled in the morning, accommodating Indian broadcast timings, and that they were slated for the second semi-final in Guyana, regardless of their Super 8 stage performance.

“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 the first semi-final was held between South Africa and Afghanistan in Trinidad.

After India's victory over England in the semi-final, Vaughan praised India's performance but suggested the pitch conditions favored them.

“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 response to Vaughan's criticism, Sourav Ganguly questioned how broadcasting schedules could influence match outcomes, emphasizing that winning still required on-field performance.

“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.