AFG vs NZ: Afghanistan Cricket Board issues an official statement after Day3 gets washed out too

The historic one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand at the Shahid Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex in Greater Noida has been deemed unplayable for the third successive day due to nonstop rain on Wednesday, September 11.

Not a single ball has been bowled so far, with the outfield still waterlogged and unable to host the Afghanistan vs New Zealand Test at the Shahid Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex.

The match was scheduled to start on September 9, but the embarrassing state of the outfield forced the match officials to wash out the first two days of play in Greater Noida.

The outfield is still not ready to host the match due to continuous rainfall in the last two weeks and now the play of the third day was also abandoned.

Rain-soaked Greater Noida outfield leaves Afghanistan vs New Zealand Test on brink of abandonment

This venue was selected for convenience in Delhi, but it has now turned into the worst state of affairs.

Being the first Test ever at this venue, it found itself facing harrowing criticism right from the very first day owing to the lack of drainage systems, which could not bear the brunt of overflow.

The situation has now reached such a critical stage that there are very real fears the one-off Test match could be abandoned altogether, which would make it only the eighth Test in cricket history to be called off without a single delivery.

With further rain forecast, the chances of abandoning the Afghanistan vs. New Zealand one-off Test match are growing increasingly after the third day was abandoned without even a toss on Wednesday.

ACB reveals why they chose Greater Noida as the venue for the AFG vs NZ Test

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) opted for Greater Noida as the venue for the match to make travel logistics easier from Kabul to Delhi, but that is turning out to be a huge backfire.

Earlier, the ACB had ruled out the possibility of taking the match to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since the heat there is extreme and there is no viable alternative for the game.

The match was still indefinite, and the future of the game was precariously hanging in the balance at the moment.

The ACB stated: “It's important to understand that the Future Tours Program (FTP) is typically planned five years in advance, which makes it nearly impossible to predict future circumstances with complete certainty.”

On the other hand, Menhajuddin Raz, ACB's international cricket manager, was quoted as saying by Reuters, “If it rains like this, no venue is going to be able to host a game.”

Not the news we wanted to share! 😕

Heavy overnight rain and ongoing drizzle have resulted in Day 3 of the One-Off #AFGvNZ Test being washed out. Officials will assess the conditions again tomorrow morning.#AfghanAtalan | #GloriousNationVictoriousTeam pic.twitter.com/UOUR4oc2zx

— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) September 11, 2024

On the other hand, live footage showed that the rain was coming down to the ground as most of the outfield was covered. However, there are a few spots that are not covered, and that has resulted in large puddles appearing on the field.

The forecast is for further rain on Wednesday and in the next couple of days, which is certainly disappointing news for the players from both teams and the fans.