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Greater Noida Stadium Manager Blames Afghanistan As Rain Mares One-Off Test Vs New Zealand

Greater Noida Stadium [x] Greater Noida Stadium [x]

The one-off Test match between Afghanistan and New Zealand has taken another interesting turn as the stadium manager has put the entire blame on the Afghan side for the mismanagement of the Test venue.

The Test match was supposed to begin on Monday, but even after four days, not a single ball has been delivered, due to inclined weather and poor drainage system at the Greater Noida Sports Complex.

It's been raining in patches and the stadium doesn't have the facilities to cover the entire ground. The insufficient drainage system has resulted in puddles being formed at multiple spots. Moreover, the failure to start the match on time has put the Greater Noida Stadium authorities under the microscope.

The Greater Noida Authority, the official caretaker of the venue came to check the stadium conditions, only when things got worse. A couple of officials did came in to check the conditions, but it should have been done before the game.

Stadium Manager slams Afghanistan team for mismanagement

However, in a scathing attack, the manager of the stadium has blamed the Afghanistan cricket team. Speaking to Red FM, the manager denied any mismanagement from their side and stated that people want content and they are blaming the authority without knowing the reality.


“The Afghanistan team had arrived on 30 August and they played a 3-day (intra-squad) match from 1-2 September where they scored more than 300 runs. We delivered the pitch as per coach Jonathan Trott’s demand,” the concerned person told the radio channel.

“The rain is causing the major trouble which isn’t in our hands. The closest stadium to this one is Delhi (Arun Jaitley Stadium) where the downpour has resulted in the cancellation of (DPL 2024) matches. The showers are so heavy that the water penetrates the covers despite enveloping the entire ground.

The manager further added that the Afghanistan side know the conditions of the stadium, as they have played here before, and as a result, they shouldn't have picked this venue for the one-off Test.

“And it’s not that Afghanistan are not aware of this ground. It has been their home venue for three years and they surely have trained in rainy conditions. Had their board been unaware, they wouldn’t have approved this venue to host the game.”

Manager's statement contradicts the reality

With just one day left in the Test match, a draw is inevitable. Interestingly, the stadium manager's statements contradicts the reality. All the games played at this venue in 2017 and 2020 during the same period (September), witnessed zero rainfall.

Also, a couple of Duleep Trophy matches were played at this venue in 2016 It was a Pink-Ball Test and interestingly, the game was uninterrupted by rain. A total of 4 matches were played here in 2016 Duleep Trophy and not even a single match witnessed rainfall. There is a chance that the stadium could be banned from hosting international matches.