Greater Noida: There is no end to the nightmare of the Afghanistan and New Zealand cricketers who have spent three straight days in hotel rooms waiting for the ground to be match-ready at the Shahid Vijay Pathik Sports Complex in Greater Noida. Persistent rain and poor facilities forced the abandonment of play on Day 3 on Wednesday (September 11) morning.
While the first two days were washed out despite no rain, the third day was called off due to heavy overnight rain and overcast weather conditions in the morning.
However, poor management saw the ground staff failing to cover the entire ground to prevent it from getting waterlogged.
More rain overnight in Noida. Likely further delays to the start of the Test on day three #AFGvNZ pic.twitter.com/U8qvM5mS6n
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) September 11, 2024
The stadium has come under much criticism for poor drainage and outdated facilities in the stadium with questions being raised over the selection of the venue. Reports claim that Afghanistan, the home board, rejected the chance to host the match at the home ground of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) M. Chinnaswamy Stadium and Kanpur’s Green Park.
Now a source has claimed that the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) and the Greater Noida authority were aware of the rain danger but decided to organise the match all the same to make some money.
“This stadium comes under the Greater Noida Authority. Some of its people and some people from Afghanistan Cricket organised a match in Greater Noida during the rainy season to make money,” the source told Times Now.
Workers from Labour Chowk covers from a local tent house
Earlier, Sports Tak had claimed that the Greater Noida Authority rented the ground covers from a local tent house. After learning about the ordeal the DDCA and UPCA loaned ground covers and supper sopper to cover the entire ground but it proved to be too late.
Another explosive claim has been made by the source, who that the workers were taken from the Labour Chowk in Noida to manage the ground.
“They took away workers from Labour Chowk to manage the ground. Have you ever seen such a thing? A WhatsApp was sent to a person from UPCA after which the Super Sopper was made available in the stadium,” the source further said.
The onus lies with match referee Javagal Srinath, whose report on the preparedness of the stadium could decide the fate of the venue which was banned by BCCI in 2017 for match-fixing activities.
AFG vs NZ: According to a source, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) and the Greater Noida authority were aware of the rain danger but decided to organise the match all the same to make some money. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
