Afghanistan were scheduled to play a Test match against New Zealand at the Greater Noida Cricket Stadium, which has been assigned as the home ground of the Afghanistan Cricket Team by the BCCI. However, the Test match had to be abandoned without a ball being bowled due to the incessant rain on all five days.
It marks the eighth time in Test cricket history that a match has been abandoned without a ball being bowled. The conditions in the stadium has been under spotlight due to the wet outfield that persisted for all five days of play.
The ground staff tried to dry the field with electric fans and even new turf was used but was unable to make it ready for the match. The sun did peep out in the first few days but the ground could not be made ready to play even a single ball.
Afghanistan team offered three venues- Kanpur, Bengaluru, and Noida
The only Test match between Afghanistan and New Zealand gets abandoned (Image Credits: X)
It was going to be the first ever Test match for this venue in Greater Noida. However, it came under the controversy due to the bad drainage system which made it unavailable for even a single ball to be played. Afghanistan was offered three venues, namely Kanpur, Bengaluru, and Noida. However, they chose this venue to play the game as the Delhi airport is close to the stadium.
Afghanistan can’t host any matches at their home due to the security issues back in the country. So, the BCCI has come up with all their help to support Afghanistan cricket as the two nations enjoy a friendly relationship.
According to media reports, the ACB had criticized the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for providing a venue with insufficient resources. However, Afghanistan Cricket Board didn’t want to go into any criticism of the conditions in the Greater Noida Cricket Stadium in order to maintain a friendly relationship with the BCCI.
Afghanistan have been part of 9 Test matches since they got the approval to play Test cricket. They have won 3 of them and will play next against India and Sri Lanka.
