Afghanistan Cricket Manager Breaks Silence On One-off Test Against New Zealand As The First Three Days Washed Out

Day 2 of Afghanistan against New Zealand, a one-off Test match, was canceled without any action, adding to the controversy surrounding the facilities in Greater Noida. The Pathik Sports Complex’s field was not prepared for play by the ground crew, and as a result, the Greater Noida Authority has faced heavy criticism.

Although there was no rain on Tuesday, the umpires were concerned about the “players safety” and were unable to start the play due to some moist places on the ground.

Although the bulk of Afghanistan’s matches have taken place at Greater Noida, the Afghanistan Cricket Board was presented with other possibilities by the BCCI, including Bengaluru, Kanpur, and Greater Noida.

Afghanistan reveals why they chose Noida for the New Zealand test:

The Afghanistan vs. New Zealand one-off Test match at Greater Noida raised serious concerns about the stadium’s infrastructure and its suitability to hold an international match even though there was no rain on either of the first two days of play.

The inability of the venue to be prepared for action has led to criticism of the Greater Noida Stadium Authority. However, Greater Noida Stadium was selected by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) as the preferred location for this game. Logistical factors were the cause of this.

“The BCCI offered us three venues – Kanpur, Bengaluru, and this one. We chose to play at Greater Noida as it was most convenient in terms of logistics. It was a two-hour drive from Delhi airport,” Afghanistan board’s international cricket manager Menhajuddin Raz told reporters.

“The venue has always been Afghanistan’s home venue. If we talk about back from 2016, we have been playing games here,” he added.

The outfield has been wet for the first three days, so the ground crew’s work of trying to get the match ready for play—which is now in danger of being washed out without a ball during the course of the five days—would be a nightmare.