After the third day of the one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand was also called off due to rain and a wet outfield, a report has claimed that a few officials of the Afghanistan Cricket Board and Greater Noida Sports Authority wanted to make money by heaving the match in the rainy season.
Afghanistan and New Zealand were slated to play a one-off Test match at the Shahid Vijay Pathik Sports Complex Stadium in Greater Noida.
However, the first two days of the match were canceled since the stadium was not prepared for play due to moist circumstances induced by rain on the eve of Day 1. The stadium’s conditions have been heavily criticized, with several officials stating that they will not return to play in it.
The second day and third days were also called off due to the same conditions. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) acknowledged the dire situation, stating that it was doing everything it could to get the Test underway, but the inclement weather was proving to be too much.
Officials from the Afghanistan board and Greater Noida Authority hosted this match here despite the rains
However, insiders have made dramatic claims about the ACB and the Greater Noida authorities. The Greater Noida Authority has control over the stadium.
A source close to the proceedings told Times Now that some members of this group, as well as some members of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), organized the match at the stadium during the rainy season to generate money.
“This stadium comes under the Greater Noida Authority. Some of its people and some people from Afghanistan Cricket organized a match in Greater Noida during the rainy season to make money,” the source said.
The source also added that Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) approached Afghanistan officials multiple times, offering to host the Test match in Kanpur.
“UPCA called several times to say let’s have a meeting. We will give you whatever you need. We have experience, it will be easy for you. UPCA said that the match should be held in Green Park because UP League is being held in Ekana,” the source added.
The insider also made the stunning revelation that they removed personnel from the Labour Chowk to manage the ground. A super sopper was made accessible when the ACB sent a Whatsapp message to a member of the UPCA.
“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 claimed.
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