Former India skipper and legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar came quite hard at Cricket South Africa (CSA) after the first T20I between the hosts and India at the Kingsmead in Durban got washed out due to rain on Sunday.
Gavaskar criticised the South African cricket governing body for only covering the square and leaving the entire outfield exposed to the persistent drizzle.
"If the ground remains uncovered and the rain stops, you know it doesn't start for another hour. Suddenly it rains again and there is no play whatsoever," Gavaskar told Star Sports.
"All the cricket boards have got plenty of money. If they say they don't, they are lying. They might not have as much money as the BCCI. Fair enough. But every board has got money to buy these covers to cover the entire ground," he mentioned.
Citing the example of Eden Gardens, Gavaskar lauded Sourav Ganguly for arranging covers at the venue that could cover the entire ground and keep the outfield dry amid showers.
"Sourav Ganguly was the man in charge, and he made sure that nobody could point fingers at Eden Gardens," told Gavaskar.
The 1983 World Cup winner reminded everyone how some of the fixtures during the 2019 Men's Cricket World Cup in England were abandoned "because the ground was not covered".
"So many World Cup matches in England did not take place because the ground was not covered. The rain had stopped, but the rest of the ground was wet. So, a lot of teams lost points," mentioned Gavaskar.
Meanwhile, the second T20I between India and the Proteas will be played at St. George's Park in Gqeberha on Tuesday, December 12 and a PTI report suggests that India's pacer Deepak Chahar might not feature in the rest of the T20I series.
Deepak has stayed back in India as one of his family members' health deteriorated and required urgent medical attention.
