Paris: Former India coach Rahul Dravid has defended the heavily criticised US leg of last month’s T20 World Cup, saying playing “odd hours” and coping with “challenging” facilities were “compromises” necessary to bring cricket to a wider audience.

Stating that organising the event in the region required a great deal of effort, Dravid said that the games in New York, Florida and Texas started at 10.30 local time and the infrastructure used was suitable for him.

“Yes, it is challenging in terms of facilities. But if you want to grow the sport and make it a global game, then you have to engage in such events and make concessions, even if that means playing in conditions that may not be perfect, at odd hours,” Dravid said at a panel discussion on ‘Cricket in the Olympics: Dawn of a New Era’, celebrating its inclusion in the 2028 Los Angeles Games here on Sunday.

Dravid led India to its first ICC title in 11 years in the tournament, which was jointly organised by the USA and the West Indies and featured knockout matches.

The US hosting a cricket match for the first time was seen as a stepping stone to building a regional fan base ahead of the Los Angeles Olympics.

However, in order to appeal to the large audience in the subcontinent, all India matches were played at 10.30 am, which led to some criticism as it was felt that Native Americans were not being taken into consideration.

“To be honest, I don’t think starting at 10:30 am was a problem for me. We are in the entertainment business, which caters to people who want to watch sports. There was absolutely no problem for me,” Dravid said.

The former India player said that the early start actually brought “equality” for both teams.

“As a coach, the conditions were pretty even because dew becomes a factor in a lot of day-night games. The draw can be a big factor, as we saw in Australia. But for 10.30 it was fine; it was even for both teams.

“From a coaching standpoint, I wasn’t bothered by the 10:30 game,” he said.

Dravid, accompanied by ICC CEO Geoff Allardice during the meeting, praised the governing body’s bold move to move the World Cup to the United States.

“It was a huge effort by the ICC to bring the game to the US and introduce it to that audience. There’s a huge passion for the game in the US. It was really nice to play in the US; some of the games were packed,” he said.