BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla today came in to defend the facilities at Green Park Stadium in Kanpur after the two days of play were abandoned during the second India vs Bangladesh Test, while one of the days had no rain during the scheduled play hours. On Monday, Shukla said: "Well, criticism is one thing which we are used to in the administration of the BCCI in cricket. But everything is being criticised. When we are not giving matches to Kanpur because [of certain reasons], then also I was being criticised. Now we are giving the match and I am still being criticised why it has been given to Kanpur. So that goes on. "You know the problem is that this ground is around 80 years old. It is our heritage ground. If you remember it used to be a permanent Test centre. The original six permanent Test centres were Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai and Kanpur. This is a permanent centre. So the whole idea was to have Test matches here. This is the first time in 80 years that it rained so much that we were not able to host the match for two days." The second and third days had scarcely any rain in actual play hours. In fact, the real problem occurred even before the matches were due to begin. The drainage system itself could not cope with the conditions. Shukla, who hails from Kanpur and has considerable influence in Uttar Pradesh cricket, said no matches have been abandoned at Green Park before, although he did admit upgrades are needed. He referred to the Duleep Trophy game in 2017, where three out of four days were lost due to similar issues. Also Read | Delhi Capitals Owners GMR Group Buy Majority Stake in Hampshire Cricket Shukla said: "The history suggests that no match has been abandoned here in Kanpur. There are many venues in the world where because of the rains, matches have been abandoned. So here if for two days the match couldn't take place, I don't think there should be too much hue and cry. When this ground was being built, and the stadium was being built, then those technologies were not available. Now technologies are available. Like in our Lucknow stadium, we have got that technology. And in Varanasi, we are building another stadium. There we have got high-tech, modern technology to take away the rainwater. "Here also we are planning. Today I had a discussion with administration about how we can develop this system by which the rainwater can immediately be [drained]." In fact, the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) operates Green Park Stadium under an arrangement, or an MoU, with the UP government. While the land on which the ground is located belongs to the UP government, the upkeep of the ground falls under the purview of the UPCA. Shukla said: "The moment I came here, I had a long discussion with government officials because this stadium belongs to the government. We are in agreement with them. So, now for that, the ground has to be dug, new technology has to be applied and everything has to be done. So, immediately after coming here, I had a discussion with the authorities and they are also on the same page and I think we will be able to improve the conditions here shortly. "Sometimes it happens, though we all pray to [the rain god] Lord Indra, not to rain, but, you know, it happens. And it happens throughout the world. So, why unnecessarily Kanpur and Green Park is being blamed for something which is in nature's hands?"