The rising pollution level and AQI (Air Quality Index) reading in Delhi is likely to have an impact on the Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka World Cup fixture in the capital on Monday. The AQI remained in the severe category for most of the day and even touched the alarming 500 mark in some areas of the capital.
While Bangladesh cancelled their training session at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Friday, CricketNext has reliably learnt that Sri Lanka too have objected to playing in these conditions.
“There was a virtual meeting attended by Sri Lanka officials for the team’s security arrangement in the capital where they raised the issue of pollution and objected to playing in the capital,” a source close to developments tells CricketNext.
Both the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and ICC (International Cricket Council) have maintained that the match will go ahead as planned and there is no talk of shifting the fixture as it is going to be a logistical nightmare at the moment.
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“Yes, we are aware that the situation is bad but it will be a nightmare to shift the match at this stage. There has been some noise from both camps regarding the playing conditions but no talk of shifting the match or exploring another venue is being done at this stage,” says an ICC official.
There are murmurs doing the rounds about the game possibly moving to Lucknow but a BCCI official added that wait and watch is going to be the approach as of now.
“Let’s see how the next two days are. We need to wait and watch as of now,” adds the BCCI official.
The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA), the state association hosting the fixture, said concerns were raised by both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh camps with regard to pollution in the capital.
“Dono teams ne objection to kiya hai but let’s wait and watch. Too early to say anything right now. Tickets have been sold, and all arrangements have been made. Bangladesh are already here and have a practice session scheduled for tomorrow evening too,” says a senior DDCA official.
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“Deteriorating conditions”
On cancelling the team’s practice session, scheduled from 6 pm to 9 pm today, Bangladesh team director Khaled Mahmud said some players have already started coughing so they don’t want to take a chance ahead of the match.
“We were due for a training session today, but we didn’t take the risk due to the deteriorating conditions. We’ve got two more training days. Some players have started coughing, indicating a risk. We cannot compromise health as we have a crucial game on November 6,” said Mahmud.
Poor air quality in Mumbai too
Mumbai too is under the pollution cloud since a couple of weeks and it was raised by Indian captain Rohit Sharma via an Instagram story moment he landed in the city from Lucknow. At the presser ahead of the Sri Lanka game, Rohit spoke at length on the issue and asserted it’s important future generations get to live without any fear.
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“Looking at our future generations, your kids, my kid. Obviously, it is important that they get to live without any fear. Every time I get to speak outside of cricket, or not discussing cricket, I always talk about this. We have to look after our future generations. In an ideal world, you do not want a situation like this but I am pretty sure that the concerned people are taking the necessary steps to avoid this kind of situation,” said Rohit.
The India-Sri Lanka match went ahead without any trouble but the AQI readings in Mumbai were way better than the alarming readings in Delhi at the moment. The next couple of days are going to be crucial and it remains to be seen whether conditions improve to make Delhi fit for hosting a World Cup fixture in the capital.
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