Despite the poor air quality in Delhi, the T20I series opener between India and Bangladesh will be held as scheduled at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. However, there is a major concern regarding the training session.
As per a report published in IANS, Indian players could give hardcore outdoor training sessions a miss and spend more time at the gym with the Air Quality Index (AQI) not showing much signs of improvement in the national capital.
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For the first T20I, slated to be played on November 3, Team India are due to arrive in Delhi on October 31 and have two training sessions planned. Both the sessions on November 1 and 2 are from 2 PM to 5 PM. But it might turn into optional sessions.
"The match shouldn't be a major problem as it is a night match, but the issue is the training (set for the mornings) and you could see optional training sessions on both the days if the weather doesn't improve. This isn't a fresh season and the players have already been playing so some gym sessions should be enough to get them up and running after the Diwali break. And even if you have the senior players coming in on Saturday -- eve of the game -- it could be just to gauge the playing conditions. But again, all that depends on the weather conditions,” sources in the know of developments told IANS.
"We have been keeping a check on the weather forecast and while the sun didn't come out on Tuesday, it is showing sunny on Friday, so in that case, training shouldn't be a problem. Once the sun comes out, things will hopefully be sorted and in that scenario, we will have full training sessions," the source said.
The air quality has deteriorated to the "very poor" level post-Diwali celebration in Delhi NCR. The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 306 and 356 in Delhi and Noida on Monday (October 28) morning. In Gurugram, the air quality index fell to 279 (poor).
Commenting on this issue, a senior Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) official told IANS: "To be honest, it was hurting the eyes a bit today. And while Bangladesh also have a training session for Thursday, I don't think that will take place. Also, Bangladesh could ask for a slight delay in the training timing for Saturday as they are scheduled to train from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Training in the morning would be an issue and in such a scenario and India's training could also then be pushed a little deeper."
