The Afghanistan-New Zealand Test match in Greater Noida was a disaster. No ball was bowled for four days due to poor ground conditions and rain. Critics blamed the management for poor preparations at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Stadium.
Although rain was a factor, the main problem was the lack of protection for the pitch and outfield. Grounds staff reportedly had difficulty preparing the playing surface because there were not enough covers, leading to wet patches. This has raised questions about the stadium’s ability to host international matches. There were also claims that the infrastructure was not up to par for such an important Test match.
Amid the backlash, an anonymous stadium manager defended the venue and denied allegations of mismanagement.
According to a report by News18, in a conversation with Red FM 93.5, the manager claimed that criticism was being made without fully understanding the circumstances. He suggested that the matter was being blown out of proportion because “people want content.”
“The Afghanistan team arrived on August 30 and played a three-day match from September 1-2, in which they scored over 300 runs. We handed over the pitch as per the request of coach Jonathan Trott,” the person in question reportedly told the radio station.
“The rain is causing a major problem which is not in our hands. The nearest stadium to this is Delhi (Arun Jaitley Stadium) where the downpour has led to the cancellation of matches (DPL 2024). The rains are so heavy that the water is penetrating the roofs despite enveloping the entire ground.
“It’s not that Afghanistan doesn’t know about this ground. It’s been their home ground for three years and they’ve probably trained in rainy conditions. If their board of directors hadn’t known about this, they wouldn’t have approved this venue to host the match,” he said.
After this conversation, the RJ (Radio Jockey) said, “Jitna to humari team nahi kheli, itna to inhone khela hai (Indian cricket team has never played, but Afghans have).”
“People need content and don’t want to know the truth,” the manager concluded.
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