Afghanistan’s first training session spoilt after overnight rain in Greater Noida

The Afghanistan cricket team has returned to their Indian home ground in Greater Noida and has met with a unique challenge as they arrived at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex on Thursday as overnight rain spoilt their first training session, putting obstacles to their preparations for the upcoming one-off Test match against New Zealand.

This Test match, scheduled to begin on September 9, is a historic moment for Afghanistan cricket. It is their first appearance at this venue in four years, and the team is eager to make the most of their preparatory camp. 

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi opened up about serious concerns about the team's ability to train effectively. The entire field was dampened, with flooded pitches that left players like opener Ibrahim Zadran visibly doubtful about the conditions.

The pitch curator Amit Sharma has been working tirelessly to prepare the venue. Sharma, who has been at the Greater Noida facility since 2013, opened up about the excitement of hosting a Test match and the hurdles after being hit by overnight rain. 

“We left the entire stadium covered last [Wednesday] evening, but the overnight storm blew away the covers. As I woke up, I rushed to the venue after the security guard sent me a video,” he told News18 CricketNext.

Also read: Afghanistan announce preliminary squad for one-off Test against New Zealand

It would be a great game if the rain stays away: Amit Sharma

Innovative measures are being used to fight the weather's impact as table fans are being used to dry the pitches, while tractor tires are weighing down covers to prevent them from being blown away by storms.

"It would be a great game if the rain stays away. We have prepared a good black soil strip that would see an even competition between the ball and the ball. I can control everything on the field, but the weather is not in my hands. You could also check on the internet that it would rain every day till September 8," he added.

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Sharma mentioned that he and his team are working tirelessly to get the ground ready. They are also bringing 10-15 more people to help them conduct the historic Test match smoothly.

"We are a team of 8-10 people who have been working here. But 10-15 men will also join us before the game begins. The hustle has just begun. We can’t calm down until the first ball of the match is bowled,” he concluded.