There are no plans in place to move the remaining matches away from Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, despite growing concerns over the state of the New York pitches for the T20 World Cup.
Matches like Sri Lanka all out for 77 runs against South Africa, and India restricting Ireland to just 96 runs, have caused intense scrutiny on the newly introduced drop-in pitches in New York, which showed a bias to bowlers.
According to a BBC report, India has expressed privately its disaffection over the unpredictable bounce and the inconsistent nature of the pitches, which has raised concerns over the safety of its batsmen. India plays Pakistan in their second Group A match at New York on Sunday.
"The International Cricket Council (ICC) is believed to be analysing data from previously abandoned games to establish how to react should it need to act. However, ICC officials have maintained there are no contingency plans in place to switch any of the New York games to venues in Florida or Texas, both of which have natural turf strips.
"It is understood an unused pitch has been designated for the India v Pakistan showdown, although there is flexibility to alter that decision depending on how other pitches play before that encounter," stated the BBC report.
The makeshift venue in New York, constructed for the T20 World Cup, features a total of 10 Tahoma grass pitches imported from Australia, initially transported to Florida before being brought to New York and installed in a drop-in configuration a few weeks prior to the tournament.
Australian curator Damien Hough, renowned for his expertise in drop-in pitches from his tenure at the Adelaide Oval, was enlisted by the ICC to oversee pitch preparation in New York.
The outfield consists of Kentucky bluegrass grown in New Jersey atop a sand base. During India's match against Ireland, there were instances of uneven bounce, resulting in balls either skidding low or rising sharply towards the wicketkeeper.
Players such as Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Paul Stirling, Rohit Sharma, and Rishabh Pant faced challenges, with Rohit retiring hurt at 52 after sustaining an elbow injury. Other issues at the New York venue include a slow outfield due to its sand-based foundation and a disparity of 10 meters in square boundaries on either side.
"A clear diagnosis for the problems has not yet been identified. India fans were even cheering runs for Ireland at one point during their eight-wicket win, hoping the length of the game would be extended so they could see more of their team batting in the second innings," the report added.
Concerns have also been raised about the six drop-in pitches installed at the practice facility in nearby Cantiague Park, with reports indicating that South Africa's batsmen chose throw-downs over facing their own bowlers and local net bowlers due to injury apprehensions.
