No play has been possible at Noida Stadium for 2 days© X (Twitter)
The Afghanistan vs New Zealand one-off Test has made headlines without a single ball being bowled. For two days, no play has been possible at the Greater Noida Stadium due to unfit playing conditions. Rain at the venue hasn't been incessant, poor drainage facilities have hurt the stadium's ability to get the match started. Despite the fact that the Sun was out for the most part of Day 2, even toss couldn't be held as the groundsmen failed to dry the wet patches on the field. While there are suggestions that the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) could've chosen a different venue, a board official has claimed that Noida stadium was the only option they had.
On the condition of anonymity, an ACB official claimed that the facilities at the Noida stadium haven't changed for years. In fact, at present, stadiums in Afghanistan offer better services in comparison to the Greater Noida venue.
"You won't believe me but the stadia in Afghanistan have better facilities than this one. We have improved our infrastructure in the past few years but here as Shahidi has mentioned nothing has changed," the ACB official had told The Indian Express before the Test was to begin.
The official further claimed that the ACB wanted to host the match against New Zealand at either Lucknow or Dehradun. But, its request was turned down by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), leaving no option but to choose Greater Noida as the venue.
"Our first choice was the Lucknow stadium and the second was Dehradun. Our requests were rejected by the BCCI and we were told that both the states are hosting their respective T20 leagues. This was the only ground available and we had no other choice left," the official said.
As things stand, Afghanistan would be fortunate to even manage to host three full days of cricket at the venue against New Zealand. With some showers still expected in Greater Noida, the fixture seems to be heading for a complete disaster.