NEWSRain forced the fourth successive day of the only Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand to be called off on Thursday, leaving the match in danger of being washed out without a ball being bowled.
With overnight downpours adding to an already saturated Greater Noida ground, near New Delhi, umpires inspected before the scheduled start time of 9:30 am and declared that no play would be possible.
The toss is still to take place at Afghanistan's adopted home ground, which has witnessed incessant rain for two weeks.
The venue, which is hosting its first Test, has come under scrutiny for lacking world-class facilities and having only basic drainage.
Hand-held electric fans had been used earlier in the week in a desperate attempt to dry the saturated turf.
Afghanistan, who are unable to play international matches at home because of the security situation, have played several Twenty20 and one-day internationals at the venue since 2017 after the Board of Control for Cricket in India offered use of its facilities.
The venue has received flak for inadequate facilities both on and off the field. However, Menhajuddin Naz, the international cricket manager at ACB, clarified on September 10 that playing in Greater Noida was Afghanistan Cricket Board’s (ACB) choice due to logistical reasons.
“The BCCI offered us three venues - this one, Kanpur and Bengaluru, but 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.
"This has always been our home venue. We have hosted teams like Zimbabwe, Ireland here since 2016. Recently, during our discussions with the BCCI, this ground was offered and this was the best logistical venue for us,” he said.
This is only Afghanistan's 10th five-day match since they were granted Test status in 2017. Tim Southee's New Zealand will next travel after Friday's scheduled final day for two Tests in Sri Lanka before returning for three more against India.
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