"The ICC independent pitch consultant was apprised of the change" - ICC spokesperson buries any talk of discrepancy in 2023 World Cup semis clash 

The build-up to the ongoing 2023 ODI World Cup semi-final between India and New Zealand was marred with talks of an used pitch being utilized instead of a fresh pitch. The pitch used for the league-stage encounters between South Africa and Bangladesh, as well as India versus Sri Lanka, was spruced up for a third time in the tournament to contest the semi-final.

Several overseas media outlets accused the BCCI of flexing its monopoly and pitch doctoring. However, there is no provision in the ICC rule book that states the use of a fresh pitch for a knockout encounter is mandatory. Furthermore, the pitches used for the semi-finals in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Sydney and Adelaide were also of a used nature rather than a fresh one.

An ICC spokesperson also claimed that contrary to reports, the ICC independent pitch consultant was told about the late change.

The spokesperson told RevSportz:

"Changes to planned pitch rotations are common towards the end of an event of this length, and has already happened a couple of times. This change was made on the recommendation of the venue curator in conjunction with our host."

The ICC independent pitch consultant was apprised of the change and has no reason to believe the pitch won’t play well," he added.

The Wankhede Stadium has hosted four matches in the ODI World Cup so far, with three of them resulting in the team batting first emerging victorious.

Team India skipper Rohit Sharma had also asserted during the pre-match press conference that the toss would not play a factor at the venue.

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India cruising at 121-1 in the World Cup semi-final contest against New Zealand

So far, the pitch has played quite well although its dry nature is evident. The spinners have been introduced into the attack by Kane Williamson after Rohit Sharma opted to bat first.

The left-arm spin duo of Mitchell Santner and Rachin Ravindra have not been able to make the ball talk at the start of their spell, with the Indian top order dealing with the threat comfortably.

At the time of writing, India are placed at 121-1 after 16 overs in the first innings. Shubman Gill has converted his start into a well-compiled half-century while Virat Kohli is also slowly building an innings.

Do you think there is any discrepancy in the pitch change at the Wankhede Stadium for the 2023 World Cup semi-final encounter? Let us know what you think.