Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium will host the first India versus Bangladesh T20I as per schedule on November 3 despite genuine concerns over air quality in the city post Diwali.
There were talks of the three-match series opener being shifted after the national capital's Air Quality Index (AQI) hovered between severe and very poor range for the last three days.
It is understood, noted environmentalists sent down letters on the issue to newly elected BCCI president Sourav Ganguly.
"In the light of extreme pollution in Delhi, we would like to request you to consider shifting the venue for the first T20 outside of Delhi," Jyoti Pande of Care For Air and Ravina Raj Kohli of My Right To Breathe said in a letter. "Making our cricketers play a physically demanding sport for 3-4 hours in Delhi’s toxic air will end up doing more damage to our cricket team’s health in the long run."
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However, all the speculations were put to rest by DDCA officials on Wednesday (October 30) evening as they confirmed the game will be played on time in the city. "Yes we heard about the letter but there has been no such communication from BCCI’s end," a DDCA official told Hindustan Times. "In fact, we have been told to carry on with preparations for Sunday’s match. The broadcasters are set to arrive tomorrow (Thursday)."
The game begins at 7 pm on Sunday, but at the exact same time on Wednesday, the AQI of ITO, a place near the ground, stood at 368, which falls under the "very poor" category.
An AQI between 0-50 is considered "good", 51-100 "satisfactory", 101-200 "moderate", 201-300 "poor", 301-400 "very poor", and 401-500 "severe". Above 500 is "severe-plus emergency" category.
If an individual undergoes a strenuous activity in the "very poor" category, he is vulnerable to suffering various respiratory problems. This is exactly what happened to the visiting Sri Lankan players in a Test in 2017; at one stage the tourists didn't even have eleven fit players left to take the park. It was a moment of embarrassment for the city and the nation.
But the DDCA says the scenario isn't as bad this time. "The air quality generally deteriorates here at this time, it is a known fact but I don’t think that will cause problems to the players this time,” the official added.
(Inputs from Hindustan Times)
