An hour after scheduled start of play, umpires Richard Kettleborough and Sharfuddoula took a brisk walk across the Central Broward Park & Broward County Stadium outfield here and called off proceedings.

India’s last Group ‘A’ match, against Canada, was abandoned without a ball being bowled.

The umpires had an easy decision, as the outfield was nowhere near ready for play. There was no rain on match day, but a heavy downpour on the previous night did the damage.

India (7 points) finished on top of the group, and will face Afghanistan in its first Super 8 fixture at Barbados on June 20. Canada (3 points) lost the chance to go up against the fan favourite side, and exited the tournament.

“As an associate nation, we would have loved to play against the Indian team. But nature cannot be stopped. There was heavy rain in the last two days, so it was tough to get the ground ready,” Canada head coach Pubudu Dassanayake said.

“We were pumped up for the game. For many of our guys, their heroes are in the Indian team. But even though we not could play the match, it was great to spend time with the Indian team and chat with them. They gave us tips on how to improve our game, which was a great takeaway,” Dassanayake said.

The Indian team’s focus, meanwhile, will now shift to tackling different conditions in the West Indies. The pitches in the Caribbean will not heavily assist the pacers, as seen in New York. Team combinations, batting approach, a par score – these are some of the aspects that skipper Rohit Sharma will have to reassess.

India batting coach Vikram Rathour stated that it was disappointing to not get a game here.

“It is disappointing for fans who have turned up to the stadium, and for us too. We were looking forward to playing the game. It was important for us to get match practice. But the rain is something we cannot control,” Rathour said.

Concerns regarding sustaining injuries on a wet outfield had to be considered, Rathour added.

“The concern about sustaining an injury is always there when you play in less than ideal conditions. We are already in the Super 8, and you do not want any injuries ahead of important matches. Of course, the decision to call off play is with the match officials. We did not have any say in that,” Rathour said.

On releasing two travelling reserves from the squad, Rathour said, “That was always the plan. We wanted to keep two reserves, and release two.”