Afghanistan found a new home in India. The neighbors are facing New Zealand in their first-ever Test match. But the match has turned out to be a big mess. Due to the wet outfield, the first two days of the five-day Test match have been called up. After that, a lot of question were raised over the venue selection, facilities, and many more things. The Afghanistan Cricket Board has provided answers to all the pending questions.
Answer About the Disappointment:
Keeping many setbacks in mind, Afghanistan had opted to host their first-ever Test match against New Zealand in India. At the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Stadium in Greater Noida, they were all set to host the historic match. But the rain spoiled everything.
After the first day was canceled, no play was possible on the second day. The officials called it off due to a wet outfield. Despite the ground staff’s efforts, conditions remained unsuitable for the toss to take place.
After the second day was canceled, ACB’s International Cricket Manager Menhajuddin Raz stated that rain was the main reason for disrupting plans for the one-off Test. He said, “You’ve seen it. They are trying every way to get the ground ready. They’re trying the fans. They’re trying the soppers.”
Later he added, “They’re trying to actually remove the turf and replace it. They’re trying every solution, and we really appreciate them, really admire them. But like I said, it’s the time it takes, it takes everywhere.”
Over the Venue Choice:
BCCI helped the Afghanistan Cricket Board to arrange this match in India. According to reports, the BCCI offered several options, and the ACB chose Greater Noida for its logistical advantages. Additionally, the venue had previously served as Afghanistan’s home ground, making it a familiar choice.
Raz said, “The venue has always been in Afghanistan to venue. We have hosted Zimbabwe and Ireland here. It’s something which has recently been in discussions with BCCI and we have got a couple of options and one was the Greater Noida. We had the option of Kanpur and Bangalore.”
Later he added, “So, this was like one of the best logistically approached venues for us, which is just around 2-hour drive from Delhi airport. That’s the only reason which has been picked as the hosting option.”
About the Recce:
After the first two days were called off, questions were raised over the recce. But then the board answered that. He said, “It’s part of the international standard. At least 3-4 months, even six months before, you make a recce of the venue. And then, you make sure everything is normal. But the whole issue came up from the heavy rain which has happened over the last two weeks or so. And then, last night, it wasn’t looking good at all.”
Later he added, “It’s not only us, you know, who does this recce. It’s the visiting team as well, their team and their player association team, they do the recce and everything was so good. We had a three-day game here with one of the local teams which went well. We didn’t face any issues. But, right when the rain started and all of this happened. That’s uncontrollable. So, it’s with the rain. The recce didn’t go wrong.”
About the Drainage System and Praising the Ground Staff:
There was no rain on the first day, but heavy rain on the evening of the first day delayed play the next day. If a field can’t be ready after a brief drizzle, there may be a drainage problem. When asked about this, the ACB did not provide a clear answer but emphasized the groundsman’s efforts.
Raz said, “It’s always something which plays its role when it comes to the venue. And what we had here is, we’ve got many of the facilities which are required to drain such rain. Like last night, if you would have witnessed, the rain which has happened here and then the level of work the ground staff has put together.”
Then he added, “So, it’s only a few patches which is stopping the game and it’s not getting ready for cricket and it’s not safe for the players. That’s what the umpire is thinking. Apart from that, it doesn’t seem to be a big or a huge problem.”
On the Venue:
Due to serious issues, Afghanistan can’t host the Test match at their home soil. ICC and Afghanistan already approved Greater Noida Stadium opted for this over the other two venues.
While talking about this, he said, “The venue is an international standard venue. It has hosted, around 12 games internationally. It’s not like something which has been just new or not a venue or not a standard to be hosting a test game. So, I don’t see any issue.”
The Player’s Disappointment and Challenges:
After the two consecutive days called off in this only Test, the players from both teams are offended. With this Test match, Afghanistan was on their way to creating history. But that has been stopped. Raz has talked about this.
He said, “Everyone is so disappointed with not getting a game. When it comes to the players, when it comes to us, when it comes to you guys when it comes to fans. So, every single person involved, with the game is disappointed when they’re not getting a game of cricket on the day first or so.”
While talking about not hosting the match in their own homeland, he said, “In the current situation where we cannot host international teams in our own country due to those challenges. We really appreciate the BCCI supporting us, the ICC supporting us.”
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