AFG Vs NZ Test: Is BCCI Responsible For The Greater Noida Mess?

BCCI And Afghanistan-(X.com)BCCI And Afghanistan-(X.com)

On Tuesday, September 10, day 2 of the one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand at the Greater Noida Stadium got called off because of a wet outfield. It has been a matter of great shame as no or minimal rain took place in the past two days and yet not a solitary ball has been bowled in the match. 

The internet has been buzzing and slamming the authorities and in particular, BCCI because of the lack of facilities within the stadium. Further, videos and pictures circulted online showing the groundstaff using electric fans to dry the outfield. Limits were crossed when the authorities cut a patch of grass from the practice area and tried to replace it with the affected area.

BCCI Not Responsible For Greater Noida Mess

The fans have slammed BCCI for their hospitality and not providing a stadium of international quality to Afghanistan to host their Test, but little do they know that the apex cricket board in India has no role in this mess. 

Revsports correspondent Subhayan Chakraborty  and leading sports journalist Abhishek Tripathi took to Twitter to explain why Greater Noida was selected as the venue for this Test.

Subhayan posted a series of tweets where he explained that it was the Afghanistan Cricket Board that had asked for Greater Noida to be the venue. Further, the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association had offered to help the Noida Sports Authority, but their calls were unanswered. 

Declined Calls From UPCA

They reported that Afghanistan cricket board did not keep the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association in loop. Further, BCCI had offered Kanpur, Bengaluru, and Noida as the three options for Afghanistan to host New Zealand for the one-off Test, but the neighbouring country opted for Noida. 

ACB official Mehnazuddin Raz explained the decision and remarked that Noida was best for them in terms of logistics as it was close to Delhi, which has better connectivity than Kabul. 

Afghanistan Vow To Never Return To Noida

Recently, Afghanistan cricket management stated that they would never play a game at Noida because of lack of facilities. 

“There are no facilities. We will never come here again. Our preference will be Lucknow. There are no basic facilities. There is complete mismanagement at the venue. Even the players are not happy with good, training facilities and everything,” Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) official told Sports Tak. 

BCCI Banned Greater Noida Stadium To Host International Games

Afghanistan have been playing games at the Greater Noida stadium since 2017 and they are the only international team to host games here, as BCCI revoked Greater Noida Stadium's status to host India games after they hosted a private league without the board's permission.