'Don't think anyone has an advantage': ENG coach disagrees with Vaughan's India claims before semis

India and England are all set to face each other in the Semi Finals of T20 World Cup 2024 at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.  The game has been ravaged due to the rain and toss of the match has already been delayed. 

Ahead of the game, there has been a lot of criticism of ICC over scheduling of this World Cup and former England captain Michael Vaughan had suggested that the tournament has been catered and set up for Team India. Due to broadcasting reasons, India has played all their games at the T20 World Cup in the morning and knew the venue of the Semi Final even before the tournament began. 

However, ahead of the T20 World Cup semi final against India, England's coach Matthew Mort has completely denied the notion of an undue advantage to Team India and said both teams will start the game on equal footing. 

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England coach Matthew Mort believes India doesn't have any undue advantage

Contrary to the suggestions made by cricket pundits and Michael Vaugh, England coach Matthew Mort remains adamant that there is no undue advantage for India. He says that the buck will stop at which team reads the conditions well. 

“I don't think anyone starts at an advantage or disadvantage in a semi-final. I think it's who adapts (to the conditions) the quickest. I think you can come in with preconceived ideas, but our mantra has always been playing what's in front of us”, said Matthew Mort. 

Matthew Mort further said that the presence of Kieron Pollard in the England dugout has helped them massively assess the conditions of the Caribbean pitches and will be huge going forward.  

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"I've arrived today, there's no wind today, but we can expect that there will be some wind. And probably the key advantage for us is having someone like (former West Indies all-rounder) Kieron Pollard in our camp, whose intel on all the islands and what we can expect has been invaluable. He's got a great presence within our group and the way he goes about it," said Matthew Mort. 

The last time India and England faced each other in the T20 World Cup was at the Adelaide oval in the semi finals of T20 World Cup 2022. England hammered India in that meeting as they ran out 10 wicket winners over Rohit Sharma and side.