Basit Ali has urged the BCCI to remove Kanpur’s Green Park Stadium from their list of Test venues. This comes after more than two days were lost to rain and then a wet outfield in the ongoing second Test between India and Bangladesh.
The match began on September 27 with India’s Rohit Sharma winning the toss and choosing to bowl first. Bangladesh managed to reach 107/3 after lunch when the skies opened up and no more play was possible on day one.
The rain continued to pour on the second day, which was called off without a ball being bowled. However, the frustration began on day three, when there was no overnight rain and sunlight as well, but the ground was soaked in water and the outfield was deemed unfit to play.
They still couldn’t dry the ground- Basit Ali says BCCI should ban Kanpur from hosting Tests
Basit Ali stated in a YouTube video that the Kanpur Test is critical to India’s prospects of winning the World Test Championship (WTC). Basit stated that the drawn match could jeopardize India’s prospects of reaching the WTC final.
According to the cricketer-turned-expert, many people underestimate India’s chances of winning all three home Test matches. According to Ali, India will be in a difficult position if one of the matches against New Zealand, captained by Tim Southee, results in a draw or loss.
“The BCCI should ban Kanpur from hosting Test matches. This match ending in a draw will have an impact on India’s chances of making it to the WTC final. They won’t understand it now as everyone thinks that India will win all three Tests against New Zealand. There could be a problem for India if one of those matches ends in a draw. Kanpur doesn’t deserve to host a Test match,” Basit said on his YouTube channel.
The game finally resumed on day four, with Bangladesh making 233 runs in 1st innings, and Mominul Haque top-scoring with 107*.
Basit Ali was astonished by the limited facilities in Kanpur, noting that he expected more from India given that the BCCI is the richest cricket board in the world. He chastised the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association for failing to adequately dry the pitch despite no rain on the third day.
“Before the start of the Test, the head of the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association made big claims like the pitch and ground are fantastic and they have a very good system in place. Everything got exposed. It hasn’t rained since last night and they still couldn’t dry the ground. It’s surprising to see something like this in India,” Ali concluded.
Though India leads the World Test Championship table after winning the first Test in Chennai, a draw in the Kanpur Test will hamper their chances of qualifying for the final. India will have to win five of their remaining eight Tests to secure a spot in the WTC 2025 final.
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