"We will never come here again": Afghanistan team furious over Greater Noida Stadium amenities

Afghanistan National Cricket Team have expressed their disappointment with the facilities at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Stadium, in Greater Noida. The venue is the team's adopted home for the one-off Test against the New Zealand National Cricket Team.

The one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand is all set to take place from 9th September (Monday). The opening day of the game got washed out due to the wet outfield and the rain. But the hosts have been preparing pretty well for the game at the venue for the last few days.

However, they are unhappy with the way things have panned out for them at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Stadium. As per the reports in Sports Tak, it is learned that the team has been unhappy with the facilities at the stadium and has made the statement, saying they won't play again there.

A source close to the Afghanistan Cricket Board has confirmed that the National Cricket Team will be playing in Lucknow from the next match as the team is unhappy with mismanagement at the venue. The players also are unhappy with it. Speaking to SportsTak, he explained:

“There are no facilities. We will never come here again. Our preference will be Lucknow. There are no basic facilities. There is complete mismanagement at the venue. Even the players are not happy with good, training facilities and everything”.

Afghanistan National Cricket Team will be playing for the first time against the New Zealand National Cricket Team in the longest format of the game. This will overall be the 10th Test that they will be playing in their career.

They haven't made a big impact in Test cricket, unlike ODIs and T20s. The Hashmatullah Shahidi-led side has won 2 out of their 9 games, defeating Bangladesh and Ireland. They would want to better their record win the one-off Test against New Zealand and create history. They defeated the Kiwis in the T20 World Cup 2024 and would be high on confidence going into the game.

India is our home - Afghanistan National Cricket Team skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi

Afghanistan National Cricket Team skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi ahead of the game against New Zealand called India their home and said that they want to restrict themselves to one venue so that they can have a good home advantage. Speaking to reporters, he explained:

"India is our home, and when we host teams, other nations have played more cricket here. Hopefully, we will get a good venue here in India and if we restrict ourselves to one venue, it will be effective for us. Hopefully, the ACB and the BCCI will get us a good venue.

"If you see our records in first-class, it’s good because we play at our home ground. We know those conditions. Hopefully, in the future, there will be a time when the teams will travel to Afghanistan and our average will be higher," he concluded.