New Delhi: Indian fans were taken by surprise on Tuesday when their team's first warm-up match of the ICC World T20 against West Indies was not telecast by Star Sports.
While there was live coverage of Afghanistan's duel against Hong Kong, there are no prizes for guessing which game the Indian fans wanted to watch.
According a report in the Times of India, CC TV's Sunset+Vine is in charge of production for all matches at this year's WT20. While, Star Sports is ICC's broadcast partner.
This is the first time since 2007 that India's warm-up matches will not be telecast.
“We have taken a conscious decision to not telecast the warm-up matches because it takes the gloss away from the tournament matches, which began from March 8. It is something which we have learnt from the previous tournaments.
“Telecasting the practice ties, which aren't `official', undermines the importance of games in the first round of the competition, which actually are T20 Internationals. We'll review this strategy after the event, and do what is feasible the next time,” ICC Head of Media and Communications Sami Ul Hasan told TOI.
ICC's decision also means fans will be deprived of India's second warm-up match against South Africa on Saturday.
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