ACB chose Greater Noida as venue for AFG vs NZ one-off test, not BCCI - Reports

The AFG vs NZ is on the verge of getting abandoned without a ball being bowled.

The Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground in Greater Noida, India, was supposed to host the AFG vs NZ one-off test and become the 127th venue to hold test cricket. However, the test match is on the verge of ending without a ball being bowled as four days of the game have been abandoned with no play and no toss, and the fifth day, too, is likely to suffer the same fate.

While weather has had a role in this, the authorities and decision-makers are heavily at fault as well.

The first two days of the match saw sunshine and no rain but no play was possible due to the wet outfield and the wet patches created by the rain overnight. The drainage system at this ground is poor and hence the wet patches couldn’t be dried up despite no rain on the first two days of the game.

The third and the fourth days saw rain and play was called off on these two days even before the scheduled start of play. This has turned into a farce and a nightmare for the authorities as everyone has already given up hopes of any play being possible on the last day either.

BCCI offered three venues to ACB for the AFG vs NZ test

Fans and foreign media have been targeting the BCCI, the Indian cricket board, for giving this venue for the AFG vs NZ one-off test. However, the truth has now been revealed that it was the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) who chose this venue for particular reasons, but didn’t foresee rain in the area and didn’t pay heed to the poor facilities at the Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground.

As learned through a report in Cricbuzz, Menhajuddin Naz, the international cricket manager at ACB, has confirmed that the BCCI offered ACB three venues – Kanpur, Bengaluru, and Greater Noida – for their first-ever test against New Zealand.

The ACB selected Greater Noida due to its greater familiarity and better connectivity from Kabul, as the ground is a two-hour drive from New Delhi International Airport.

The venue, in fact, faced a ban from the BCCI in 2017 due to anti-corruption concerns. The BCCI has not conducted any games here for the last seven years.

Only seven test matches in history have been abandoned without a single ball being bowled.

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