The controversy over Greater Noida Stadium for Afghanistan and New Zealand’s Test match
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Summary: Day 2 of Afghanistan vs. New Zealand, a one-off Test match, was called off without any action, adding to the criticism surrounding the facilities in Greater Noida.
The one-off Test match between Afghanistan and New Zealand was again called off without any action, adding fuel to the criticism surrounding the facilities in Greater Noida. After the ground crew at the Pathik Sports Complex failed to prepare the field for play, the Greater Noida Authority faced a lot of criticism.
Even though there was no rain on Tuesday, the umpires were unable to start the play due to some damp places on the ground, citing "players safety" as a worry. The Afghanistan Cricket Board was given several options by the BCCI, including Kanpur, Bengaluru, and Greater Noida, even though Afghanistan has played most of its matches in India in Greater Noida.
After an anonymous Afghanistan Cricket Board official slammed the conditions at the Greater Noida Stadium and accused the BCCI of rejecting the ACB's request for alternate venues, multiple Indian media outlets widely reported on the situation.
On Monday, an unnamed Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) official stated that the team would never return to the Greater Noida Stadium. Because of the war-torn conditions in Afghanistan, the team plays their home games in India.
According to the most recent update, Nitin K. Srivastav, a social media user, uploaded an image of someone using washroom tap water to wash the utensils on X. "Ok, so catering here at Greater Noida Stadium is using the urinal washroom. Water taps for their water needs are very hygienic,” said the user.
Although they expressed disappointment, Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) officials kept away from criticizing for fear that it could harm their relationship with the BCCI.
An ACB official states, “You won’t believe me but the stadiums in Afghanistan have better facilities than this one. We have improved our infrastructure in the past few years. Our first choice was the Lucknow stadium, and the second was Dehradun. BCCI rejected our requests and told us that both states are hosting their respective T20 leagues. This was the only ground available, and we had no other choice left.”
Even though Monday and Tuesday were warm, the outfield remains drenched from the endless downpours. Afghanistan has previously hosted multiple international matches at this place since 2017. New Zealand, who were unable to train before the test, set up nets on the site and carried out drills.
