Now it is difficult for Greater Noida to host an international match, match referee will give a report

New Delhi. The decision on the future of Greater Noida’s Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex will largely depend on the report of match referee Javagal Srinath. The test match between Afghanistan and New Zealand could not be started for the second consecutive day. After this, questions are being raised about the stadium being used for conducting matches. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is often blamed for the shortcomings of the stadium, but this time the entire responsibility for the mess lies with the host Afghanistan Cricket Board.

The BCCI had offered the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru and the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur as options to the Afghanistan Cricket Board. The Afghanistan Cricket Board chose this venue, giving priority to issues such as the familiarity of its players with this venue and low cost. The BCCI has no role in this Test match. This venue was completely the choice of the Afghanistan Cricket Board and the Greater Noida Authority had to provide them with international level facilities.

According to sources, the BCCI has not hosted any of its home matches here since 2019 (Vijay Hazare Trophy). Given the poor conditions here, the chances of hosting any match in the near or distant future are negligible.

Match referee’s report and further action

The International Cricket Council (ICC) will follow the standard protocol for any international venue. Where the match referee’s report will decide on further action. Not a single ball could be bowled on the first two days and after heavy rain on Tuesday evening, the chances of play on the third day have also become very less.

Srinath will have to assess the ground’s wet outfield, where the drainage is not as good as other international venues. The stadium also lacks adequate outfield cover to protect it from rain and super soppers to soak up water from the field. The lack of adequately trained ground staff has further aggravated the venue’s problems.

According to the ICC ‘Pitch and Outfield Monitoring Procedure’, which came into effect in November 2023, ‘After each match, the Match Referee (in this case Srinath) will send the Pitch and Outfield Report Form to the ICC Senior Cricket Director’s Manager.

tag: afghanistan cricket