New Delhi: The Shahid Vijay Pathik Sports Complex Stadium in Greater Noida has been at the centre of controversy for the past two days due to the woeful facilities that have resulted in the abandonment of play for three successive days of the one-off Test between New Zealand and Afghanistan. A combination of incessant rain and dreadful management forced the play to be called off on three straight days without a single ball being bowled.
The first two days were washed out despite no rain due to poor drainage facilities. The sun was out for most of Day 2 but the groundstaff was unable to dry the wet patches on the ground.
The blame game began with the Afghanistan Cricket Board slamming the facilities and vowing to never return to the venue, which has served as home ground for them for the past few years.
Reports even suggested that the Afghanistan Cricket Board could’ve chosen a different venue to host the match, a board official has now claimed that Greater Noida stadium was given to them.
On the condition of anonymity, an ACB official told the Indian Express that the facilities at the Greater Noida stadium haven’t changed for years. He further claimed that even Afghanistan offer better services in comparison to this venue.
“Our first choice was the Lucknow stadium and the second was Dehradun. Our requests were rejected by the BCCI and we were told that both the states are hosting their respective T20 leagues. This was the only ground available and we had no other choice left,” the official told The Indian Express.
Who’s at fault?
The latest claim puts BCCI in the spotlight for not granting a different venue despite being aware of the conditions and facilities of the venue. Notably, this venue doesn’t come under the affiliation of the BCCI and it was, in fact, banned by the Indian Cricket Board for match-fixing in 2017.
However, another report which was first published in Times Now mentioned that the ACB. the home board for this match was given the choice between Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium and Kanpur’s Green Park but chose Greater Noida to make some money. Shockingly, both ACB and GNA were aware of the rain danger but decided to organise the match all the same.
The report also revealed that the Greater Noida Authority took away workers from the Labour Chowk in Noida to manage the ground.
Earlier a Sports Tak report claimed that the Authority rented the ground covers from a local tent house.
The blame game has begun in the Greater Noida Cricket stadium controversy that has dominated headlines after three washed out days of the one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
