GREATER NOIDA: Afghanistan’s one-off “home” Test against New Zealand could not get underway even on day two here on Tuesday raising questions about the preparedness of the venue.
There was a heavy downpour on Monday evening, with scattered thundershowers, which further proved detrimental for the outfield.
Multiple inspections were held throughout the second day of Test Match before play was finally called off around 3:04 pm.
Deemed unsafe by touring teams, Afghanistan are forced to play their home matches in venues abroad, including at the Shahid Vijay Singh Pathik Sport Complex in Greater Noida.
The venue has a basic drainage system and the groundstaff’s task became doubly difficult after the region witnessed regular rain in the last two weeks.
“This is a huge mess, we are never coming back here. The players are also unhappy with the facilities here,” an ACB official was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
“Day 2 of the one-off #AFGvNZ Test has officially been called off. Despite multiple efforts to dry the surface, the outfield remained unfit for play,” the Afghanistan Cricket Board said on X.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has provided Afghanistan with venues for training and matches due to instability in their own country, including locations like Lucknow and Dehradun. However, the options were unavailable for this Test due to local league commitments.
ACB opted for Greater Noida for logistical reasons.
“The venue has always been Afghanistan’s home venue. If we talk about back from 2016, we have been playing games here,” ACB International cricket manager Menhaj Raaz said.
The area is receiving incessant rainfall for the past two weeks, which the ACB claim has played spoilsport.
“It is because of the rain. Yesterday also, it rained. We had a three-day game here with one of the local teams which went well. We didn’t face any issue. But when the rain started and all of this happened.”
