India’s nine wins in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 have given them the greatest winning run in a World Cup edition. Following their victory against the Netherlands on Sunday, November 12, they are now the heavy favourites at evens to win the 2023 Cricket World Cup on home soil.
At such a time, when the men in blue are all geared up to take on New Zealand in the first semifinal of the ongoing World Cup, a report by British news outlet The Daily Mail has stirred up a huge controversy by levelling baseless accusations of ‘pitch-switching’ against BCCI and the Indian cricket team based on a ‘WhatsApp forward’.
The Daily Mail on November 14 published an exclusive report which was based on a ‘WhatsApp forward,’ accusing BCCI of changing the pitch for the upcoming semifinal without the permission of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and individuals like senior ‘journalist’ Sagarika Ghose only went on to amplify the rumour by sharing the unsubstantiated claim without bothering to verify it.
On November 15, a day after The Daily Mail published its report claiming that the India Cricket Team, BCCI had unilaterally changed the pitch for their team’s semi-final against New Zealand on Wednesday in Mumbai, controversial ‘journalist’ Sagarika Ghose turned to X to level the same accusation on India, while giving credit to the British media house.
With a photo of the Indian cricket team, the BBCI logo, and New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, Ghose captioned the post, “India accused of “stitch up” in #WorldCup2023 semi-final,” giving credit to The Daily Mail.
BCCI has, however, vehemently denied allegations of defying rules and changing pitches to suit Team India in the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.
Notably, the Cricket World Cup found itself embroiled in controversy on November 14 after the British news outlet The Daily Mail published a report titled, “EXCLUSIVE: Cricket World Cup STORM as India are accused of switching the pitch for semi-final clash with New Zealand in Mumbai against ICC agreement to aid their spinners.” The archive version of the report can be viewed here.
In its report, the British media outlet reported that the BCCI has changed the pitch for the upcoming semifinal without the permission of the International Cricket Council (ICC). The report also stated that India would do the same if they qualified for the final.
According to the Daily Mail, the semi-final match, initially slated to be played on an entirely fresh surface (pitch No. 7) at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, has reportedly been moved to pitch No. 6, which has already hosted two matches in the group stage.
The report accused that the move had been made in order to assist Indian spinners against the Kiwis.
The report also mentioned that after the opening match between England and New Zealand in Ahmedabad, the next three matches at the venue were not played on the pre-selected surface, which led to Atkinson writing an email to the ICC. It further alleged that the pitch to be used for the final on November 19 has also been switched to the one that will spin more and that the BCCI and the Gujarat Cricket Association pointed fingers at each other after the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) pitch consultant asked who allowed the change.
The foreign media outlet acknowledged in its report that it relied on a “WhatsApp forward” to support its assertion.
It read, “A WhatsApp message circulated on Tuesday to a group of more than 50 BCCI and ICC officials confirmed that the first semi-final had been moved to pitch No 6, which has already staged games between England and South Africa, plus India and Sri Lanka.”
It is a well-known fact that WhatsApp messages are often forwarded without any fact-checking or verification, making it possible for incorrect or misleading information to proliferate swiftly and readily. Strangely enough, the British media outlet thought that it would be acceptable to use a WhatsApp forward to level such a serious charge against the Indian cricket body. However, what is even more peculiar, is that Sagarika Ghose—who touts herself as an experienced journalist and is the daughter-in-law of seasoned Indian cricket star Dilip Sardesai—did not also think it necessary to independently verify the unsupported claim before sharing it publicly.
