New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner was seen taking picture of what seemed like the actual playing surface at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, echoing memories of Pat Cummins doing it at the same venue before the 2023 World Cup final. As a result, fans are wary of seeing the same result in T20 World Cup 2026 final when Santner and co. face overwhelming favourties Team India at the gigantic stadium.
What does ICC say about conditions around pitch inspection?
According to the official rules of the apex cricket body, only the captain and team coach can walk on the actual playing surface of the pitch area. The guide doesn’t mention anything explicitly about taking photos or videos, rights are seemingly granted to captains if they wish to take pictures of the deck. The rules regarding mobile devices in the players’ and match officials’ area during a match pertain only once the action gets underway.
What is not allowed by captains or coaches during pitch inspection?
The ICC also necessitates that captain or coach inspecting the pitch shall not wear spiked footwear or shoes. Additionally, no bouncing of the ball on the pitch or striking with the bat is allowed either, given it has the potential to cause damage to the surface. Moreover, captains are seemingly not allowed to interfere with pitch preparation.
Have there been similar incidents about captains taking photo of the pitch before this?
As mentioned above, Australian captain Pat Cummins took a picture of the pitch before the 2023 World Cup final in Ahmedabad. Mitchell Marsh had also captured a picture of the surface at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore prior to the T20I series against Pakistan earlier this year.
With Cummins eventually ushering Australia to World Cup success, a section of fans anticipate a similar result for New Zealand this time around. Hence, the Men in Blue will want to cover everything in their tracks.
Mitchell Santner fires warning to Team India before the tournament-decider
During a press conference on March 7, Saturday, Santner said the goal is to silence the crowd and reckons it comes down to winning little moments under pressure. He stated, as quoted by FirstPost:
“That’s the goal, to silence the crowd. There are a lot of variables in T20 cricket, and it can be fickle at times, as we’ve seen throughout the World Cup. A lot of teams are on the same page, and it comes down to a few little moments in every game that change the outcome. We can upset another big team, and I think there’s obviously a lot of pressure on India to win this World Cup at home.”
Team India have notably never beaten New Zealand in a T20 World Cup game, with their last meeting coming in 2021.
