Since the debate over the facilities rages on, nothing has been possible at the Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground during the historic one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand.
The Test was abandoned after the first two days because of the damp outfield, even though there was not a single drop of rain throughout the scheduled match times. To dry some of the problematic fields, the ground crew employed a variety of conventional and unconventional tactics. They made an effort, but they were not successful. Tuesday, the second day, was dry, but there were a few damp areas on the field that prevented play from commencing.
Before Day 3 was also called off due to rain, Menhajuddin Raz, the international cricket manager for the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), disclosed that they were given three options by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI): Kanpur, Bengaluru, and Greater Noida. They chose the latter to avoid any logistical problems.
“This venue, Bengaluru, and Kanpur were the three that the BCCI offered us. Since Greater Noida offered the best logistical options, we decided to play there. Menhajuddin Raz told reporters, as cited by NDTV Sports, “It was a two-hour drive from Delhi airport.”
The location has traditionally been Afghanistan’s national stadium. We have been playing games here if we talk about back in 2016. The reason for this is the rain. It poured yesterday as well. We played one of the local teams here for three days, and it went really well. There were no problems for us. However, everything started to happen when the rain came,” he continued.
Why might there not be a change of location?
Thus far, 11 white-ball international cricket matches have been held in Greater Noida by the governing body of cricket in Afghanistan. Dehradun is the other Indian venue where they have held matches.
“We carried out a reconnaissance four to six months prior, and the visiting team had also completed their reconnaissance.” Therefore, there was no problem. Raaz stated that the monsoon season prevented ACB from relocating the match to a new location, notwithstanding their considerations.
“We attempted to find a way to change the game, but they informed us that due to the ongoing rain, we won’t be able to properly set up the location for you in the upcoming 24 hours,” he continued.
Also Read: AFG vs NZ 2024, Only Test: Electric fans utilised to dry wet places in Greater Noida
This is the first time Afghanistan and New Zealand have faced off on the red-ball arena. The fans have been eagerly awaiting, and the players would be itching to take the field. Rain Gods, however, have thus far had different plans.
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