Afghanistan opener Ibrahim Zadran was among the first to walk out at the Greater Noida Sports Complex. He pressed his hands on the outfield and queried one of the Afghanistan coaching staff, “Will we be able to even do a fielding drill?” The Afghanistan players burst into laughter.
The Afghans didn’t have an ideal start to their one-week preparatory camp ahead of the one-off Test match against New Zealand, which will be played from September 9 to 13 just outside the Indian capital city.
The Afghans were greeted by incessant rain, soggy outfielders, flooded practice pitch, which the groundstaff were trying to dry with two table fans. They don’t have a Super Sopper or enough men and covers to protect even the 30-yard circle.
Groundstaff at the Greater Noida Sports Complex trying to dry the practice pitch with the help of two table fans. (Pic: Pratyush Raj)
It took Afghanistan’s bowling coach Hamid Hasan one hour to find a 10-yard spot, where the dampness was relatively less. While the coaching staff were putting on the plastic cones for the fielding drill, Afghanistan’s captain Hashmatullah Shahidi, who was felicitated with a bouquet by the UP Police, took a jab at the soggy outfield.
“Boys, we should have brought our swim gear. No way we are going to play here. Good place to swim,” says Shahidi. The captain then turned towards the venue officials and said in Hindi: “Sir hum logo ko aadat hai, but New Zealand waalon ko kya jawaab doge (We have trained in much poorer conditions, but what would you say to the New Zealand team management.”
The New Zealand cricket team will arrive in India on September 5. The Test against New Zealand will be Afghanistan’s 10th overall and their third of 2024. However, the Afghans will be without their T20 stars like Rashid Khan, Rahamnullah Gurbaz, Mohammad Nabi, Fazallaq Farooqui, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad and Naveen-ul-Haq.
The sole Super Sopper standing in the middle of the Greater Noida Sports Complex. (Pic: Pratyush Raj)
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Amit Kumar Sharma, the curator of the ground, defended the drainage system and told the Indian Express, “It was a storm. We covered the entire stadium, around 8 pm last evening. In the morning I rushed to the venue after a security guard sent me the video of the ground.”
Sharma, who has been working at the Greater Noida Sports Complex for the past ten years is confident to pull it off but is worried about the weather.
“If the rain stays away, you will have a good test match. We use black soil here and if you see the previous records here, there has always been a good competition between bat and ball,” he says.
“I can control the pitch, the outfield but I can’t do anything about the rain. The prediction is that it is going to rain everyday till September 8. We can only pray,” says Sharma.
Sharma with his eight groundstaff members were trying their own desperate tricks to protect the outfield. The table fans were in duty to dry the practice pitch, where the Afghanistan cricket team are supposed to play intra-squad matches. The big tractor tyres were brought in to put at the edge of the carpets so that they could stay intact in case there was another storm.
The scoreboard at the Greater Noida Sports Complex. (Pic: Pratyush Raj)
“We have asked for another Super Sopper and more carpets. There are only 10 ground staff, which is very low. We have asked the venue manager to get 15-20 more. It’s the first day, it’s chaotic but hopefully it will improve from tomorrow,” an ACB official tells The Indian Express.
The Greater Noida Sports Complex has been home to the Afghanistan Cricket Board in the past as well. The Afghanistan cricket team has played five ODIs and six T20I series against Ireland in 2017 and 2020, respectively.
For curator Amit Sharma, it is a big task as this is the first time he is preparing a pitch for the Test match.
“I have prepared pitches for the T20Is, ODIs, and even four-day games for the Ranji Trophy, but this is the time I am preparing for Test cricket,” he says with the hope that rain will not ruin his debut Test.
