Afghanistan coach got angry, officials got furious, said- we will never come here

Preparations for the first Test between the two countries were affected by rain and New Zealand could not complete a single practice session properly. Apart from drizzle at night, there was no rain throughout the day on Monday, but due to lack of modern facilities, inexperienced groundsmen struggled to prepare the ground. Umpires inspected six times throughout the day. Many New Zealand players including captain Tim Southee, all-rounder Mitchell Santner and Rachin Ravindra also came to inspect the ground. But mid-on and mid-wicket seemed to be a matter of concern while there were many patches inside the 30-yard circle as well.

Coach Jonathan Trott upset

Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott also seemed unhappy with the struggle of the ground staff. Super soppers were also put on only after 1 pm. Finally, the first day's play was called off at 4 pm. Toss has been scheduled for 9 am tomorrow and the remaining four days will have 98 overs which will start at 9.30 am instead of 10 am.

Ground staff used table fans to dry the ground for Afghanistan's training sessions. The lack of modern facilities extended beyond the field, affecting off-pitch operations. The venue did not have proper stands for the media and adequate seating for fans.

Lack of drinking water in the media

Moreover, there was a lack of water, electricity supply and even ladies toilets for the 'accredited' media, causing a lot of inconvenience to everyone. The fans also had no idea what was going on as there was no announcement system. There was poor communication and complete mismanagement between the stadium authority and the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB).

We'll never come back here

“It is so dirty here that we will never come back here. The players are also unhappy with the facilities here. We have already spoken to the concerned people and the stadium people have assured us that everything will be fine in terms of media facilities,” an ACB official said.

Although this Test is not a part of the World Test Championship, it is affiliated to the ICC. Run by the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority, this stadium hosted a pink ball Duleep Trophy match in 2016. However, it was banned by the BCCI in September 2017 due to match fixing during corporate matches. Since then, no match affiliated to the BCCI has been held here.

This stadium has previously been the home ground of Afghanistan. Although this stadium does not come under the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association, it will be interesting to see if BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla is able to resolve this matter.

tag: afghanistan cricket