The Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex in Greater Noida faced severe criticism as poor conditions, subpar drainage, and inadequate facilities led to the cancellation of the first day of the historic one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand on Monday. Despite the rain clearing up early in the day, no play was possible due to a sodden outfield and issues with the pitch, resulting in the opening day’s abandonment without a ball being bowled.
New Zealand, unable to complete a single proper practice session due to rain in the lead-up to the match, found the field unplayable. Despite several inspections by the umpires and assessments by New Zealand players, including captain Tim Southee, Mitchell Santner, and Rachin Ravindra, the condition of the mid-on and mid-wicket areas, as well as patches inside the 30-yard circle, remained a concern.
While the sun appeared briefly, raising hopes for a start, these were dashed when New Zealand’s Kane Williamson cautiously walked onto the pitch around 2 p.m. IST. Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott was visibly frustrated as the ground staff, lacking modern equipment, struggled to manage the situation. Shockingly, the Super Soppers were not brought into action until after 1 p.m., and the day’s play was eventually called off at 4 p.m.
The toss has been rescheduled for 9 a.m. the following day, with the remaining four days now planned to feature 98 overs each, starting at 9:30 a.m. instead of 10 a.m.
In a bid to prepare the ground for Afghanistan’s training sessions before the match, the staff resorted to using table fans to dry the field. Beyond the playing conditions, the absence of modern facilities extended to off-field operations, with inadequate media stands, poor seating arrangements for fans, and a lack of essential services like water, power, and washroom facilities for the accredited media. There was no public announcement system to inform the fans, leading to confusion.
The mismanagement of the venue, managed by the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority, drew harsh criticism from the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB). An ACB official expressed disappointment, stating, “This is a huge mess, we are never coming back here. The players are also unhappy with the facilities here.” Despite prior assurances from the stadium authorities, the poor conditions left the ACB officials frustrated.
Although the Test is not part of the World Test Championship, it is an ICC-affiliated tournament. The stadium, which had hosted a pink ball Duleep Trophy match in 2016, was banned by the BCCI in 2017 due to match-fixing during corporate matches, and no BCCI-affiliated games have been played there since.
The stadium has previously served as Afghanistan’s home ground, but an ACB official lamented that nothing had improved since their last visit. Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi had called on the BCCI and ACB to secure a better home venue for the team, stating, “India is our home, and when we host teams, other nations have played more cricket here.”
Although the stadium does not fall under the UP Cricket Association, it remains to be seen whether BCCI Vice President Rajiv Shukla will step in to address the ongoing issues.