'Tournament purely set up for India': Vaughan decries ICC's bias in scheduling post Afghanistan's WC semifinal exit

Former England captain Michael Vaughan feels the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 is purely set up for India and global body ICC should have been a bit more fairer to other countries as this is not a bilateral event organised solely for commercial gainsVaughan 49 has often criticised the BCCI and India for flexing their muscle and financial might in international cricketWell its their tournament isnt it Literally its that You know that They get to play whenever they want they know exactly where their semifinal is they play every single game in the morning so people can watch them at night obviously in India on the television Vaughan said during a podcast with Australian great Adam Gilchrist on the YouTube channel Club Prairie FireVaughans grouse is that India got to play all their T20 World Cup 2024 matches in morning because it suits the Indian audience who watched the matches in the evening He lashed out at the ICC for bowing down to Indias financial mightI get that money is a big play in the world of cricket and I get that in bilateral series but you would think that when you get to a the ICC should be a little bit fairer to everybody said the man who scored 18 hundreds in 82 Tests and was the English skipper of the historic Asheswinning side of 2005When you get to a there cant be sympathy or any kind of sway towards one team in this tournament and this tournament is purely set up for India As simple as that Vaughan allegedAlso ReadEngland wary of Kohli threat in T20 semifinalHe made no bones of the fact that a team of Indias calibre doesnt need any kind of favours to win games of cricket India didnt play a single night game and were the only team with a permanent classification A1 and fixed semifinal venue GuyanaIndian supporters believe that on paper probably they have got the best team so they dont need to do anything They can win a night match they dont need to play in Guyana in a semifinal which by the way rains 24 days out of 30 in June so they have already had six days of dryness so its going to rain Vaughan said questioning the choice of venueHe also asked why theres no reserve day for a tournament of this magnitudeWhy no reserve day I had been reading about rules and regulations of the tournament and it actually states about India There are comments about the Indian team in a rule book which well I guess I get it in a bilateral but not in Gilchrist agreed with Vaughan that a lot of Indian fans think that scheduling indeed has been compromisedThere are some very very passionate cricket supporters who are well aware of that and they are in agreement it scheduling has been compromised it to an extent the flamboyant keeperbatter statedLook lets say it again that India has been the best team most consistent team throughout may be South Africa too without losing a game but India should win it and good on them if they do itBut you are right there arent too many Indian supporters who are naive and blind to that situation Gilchrist saidTo contextualize Vaughan and Gilchrists allegations it must be mentioned that preseedings or preallocated venues has been an ageold ICC convention which during a certain period helped countries like Australia England and New Zealand who had a bigger say in ICC matters then Even the West Indies board whose bosses toed the ECB lineFor example in 1992 it was predecided that both Australia and New Zealand the two cohosts would play their semifinals at home in Sydney and Auckland unless they are pitted against each otherIn 1996 Pakistan were promised a home quarterfinal unless they played against India eventually it happened in BengaluruIn 2011 cohosts India Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were promised home knockout gamesSo its clear that all teams have had predecided seedings in T20 s over the yearsWith agency inputs