Dravid Unhappy with Practice Facilities at T20 World Cup

Rahul Dravid, India's head coach, has expressed dissatisfaction with the practice facilities provided for the T20 World Cup in New York. The teams are practicing at Cantiague Park, a public park, while the matches will be played at the Nassau County Cricket Stadium, located five miles away.

Dravid criticized the unusual practice arrangements, saying, "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."

The use of drop-in pitches at the Nassau County stadium has also raised concerns. Sri Lanka was bowled out for their lowest T20I total of 77 on one of these pitches, fueling the debate about their suitability.

Dravid also noted the lack of excitement surrounding the tournament in the United States, where cricket is not a major sport. "It's obviously slightly different. It's obviously 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," he said.

Despite these challenges, Dravid emphasized that the team's preparations and focus remain unaffected. "But 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, pretty similar to what we would normally do," he said.

India will play three of their four group matches at the Nassau County stadium, including the highly anticipated clash against Pakistan on June 9. Dravid will be hoping to end his tenure as head coach on a high note by guiding India to their first ICC trophy since the 2013 Champions Trophy.

Tags: #T20WorldCup, #RahulDravid, #India, #PracticeFacilities, #DropInPitches