AFG vs NZ: ACB Officials threatened by BCCI? Release official statement after Indian board's humiliation

Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), has issued an official statement after the Greater Noida Sports Complex ground, which was for the one-off Test match between Afghanistan and New Zealand, has been under the scanner for its poor facilities.

The first three days of the Test match have been already lost due to persistent rain and wet ground conditions.

As a result, an unknown Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) official had taken a dig at the BCCI for providing such a low-quality stadium to Afghanistan for the match.

The official even claimed that Afghanistan won't come back to this stadium again because of the huge mess.

However, the ACB knows that the criticism can spoil their relations with the BCCI, who have always put their hands up whenever needed and have now given an official statement on the issue. As a result, the board has now given an official statement on this issue.

Also read: AFG vs NZ: Greater Noida Stadium to be banned? Javagal Srinath's report to seal its fate

ACB official claims Afghanistan decided to choose Greater Noida

After the end of Day 2, ACB's international cricket manager, Menhajuddin Naz, spoke officially to the reporters regarding the ground conditions and claimed Afghanistan decided to choose Greater Noida for the Test match. Naz claimed that even if it had been any other venue, they would have struggled as well.

"Everyone, including the ground authorities, have worked hard. Even if it had been any other venue, they would have struggled to get it back on time," Naz stated.

He also mentioned that BCCI had given three options to Afghanistan to host this Test match in the form of Kanpur, Bengaluru, and Greater Noida. He also reasoned why the Greater Noida stadium was chosen ahead of the other two.

"We chose Greater Noida as it was most convenient in terms of logistics. It was closer to Delhi and also connectivity from Kabul was better," Naz added.

The ground staff has been making continuous efforts to dry the wet patches on the ground with all the limited equipment that they have.

On Tuesday, the staff used electric fans and even dug up an area and refilled it with some dry soil to dry up some wet spots.

Day 3 was called off even before starting time

Unfortunately, it was not enough as the umpires were not convinced with the ground conditions on Day 2.

The third day of the Test was called off even before its starting time. Unlike Day 1 and Day 2, which had sufficient sunshine, Day 3 saw overcast conditions right at the start.

With just two days left in the match and the conditions not looking great, the match is moving towards a disappointing draw. This is the first Test match to be hosted at this venue and it is a disappointing start to its Test history.

With ACB clearly expressing its disappointment, New Zealand team management hasn't given any public reaction on this issue.

New Zealand, led by Tim Southee, will head to Sri Lanka for a two-match Test series and will then come back to India for three Tests against the home nation.

This one-off Test match was seen as a part of their preparation for their upcoming Test season in the subcontinent. This series is not a part of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle.