Afghanistan slammed the sub-par facilities at the Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground after Day 1 of the only Test against New Zealand was washed off due to a damp outfield and poor drainage on Monday.

The weather was perfect on the opening day of the match, with the sun out and no rain throughout the day. However, the groundsmen could not prepare the ground in time after the outfield was affected by the outpouring throughout the last couple of weeks.

Mid-way past Day 1, the groundsmen worked on the wet patches around the mid-wicket/cover region, by replacing them with the newer ones.

“This is a huge mess, we are never coming back here. The players are also unhappy with the facilities here,” an ACB official told PTI.

“We had spoken with the concerned people well in advance and were assured by the stadium guys that everything will be in order (pertaining to the media facilities),” he added, While the Test is not a part of the World Test Championship, it is an ICC affiliated tournament.

The stadium is managed by the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority. It had hosted a pink-ball Duleep Trophy match in 2016.

It was later banned by the BCCI for match-fixing during the corporate matches. But it has served as a home venue for Afghanistan in the recent past with their captain Hashmatullah Shahidi urging the Indian Cricket Board to arrange a ‘good venue’.

“India is our home, and when we host teams, other nations have played more cricket here,” Shahidi said on the eve of the one-off Test against New Zealand.

“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,” he had said.