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The historic one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand on Friday, September 13 was announced washed out without a ball being bowled. The match which was scheduled to be played at the Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground in Greater Noida, was abandoned due to continuous rainfall in the city.
Although, the Test match was to be of historic feat between the two countries, but persistent rainfall and poor facilities at the stadium prevented any play across the five days, further marring controversy. However, the city received rainfall on the eve of the Test, but poor drainage facility prevented any play. But rain came into picture again, along with several other factors, boiling it to be a big controversy and also raising eyebrows on whether the stadium is fit to host international matches or not.
AFG vs NZ one-off Test becomes first in 91 years to be abandoned in India
The decision from the officials regarding calling off the Test match came early on Friday, September 13, marking it to be the first Test washout on Indian soil in 91 years since 1933. It also marked the eighth time in Test cricket history that a match was called off without a single ball being bowled. Moreover, in Asia, before this, only one match has been called off without a ball being bowled. The moment came in 1998 in a match between Pakistan and Zimbabwe in Faisalabad.
The Afghanistan Cricket took to social media to announce the decision of the one-off Test match being called off. “The highly anticipated #AFGvNZ Test match was called off without a ball being bowled due to persistent rains in Greater Noida. While the inaugural #AFGvNZ Test didn’t proceed as expected, #AfghanAtalan look forward to engaging in more bilateral cricket with @BLACKCAPS in future,” the ACB’s statement read.
Why Afghanistan opted to play one-off Test match against New Zealand in India?
It is to be noted that part of the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex is maintained by the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA). It does not come under the aegis of the BCCI. However, the decision to play the one-off Test in India came by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) following the troubled political conditions. Afghanistan, who are serving as the home side in this Test, opted Greater Noida while UAE was their preferred venue initially.
Menhajuddin Naz, a ACB official claimed that BCCI offered them a choice between Greater Noida, Kanpur and Bengaluru, but it was solely Afghanistan’s choice to play at this venue. Moreover, he stated that Greater Noida was picked as it is closer to Delhi, which makes it easier on the logistics level.
