Sri Lanka, like their Bangladeshi counterparts, decided to cancel their first training session in New Delhi ahead of their ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 match on November 6 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Bangladesh, having arrived just a day prior, decided against any outdoor activities on Friday due to the deteriorating air quality in the Indian capital.
The Sri Lanka cricket team was also forced to forgo their opening training session in Delhi after the city's pollution levels reached alarming heights, officially categorized as "severe plus."
They have opted to stay indoors on Saturday, as the Air Quality Index soared to a troubling 407 in the morning. However, the ICC is unlikely to shift the Sri Lanka versus Bangladesh CWC 2023 match out of Delhi, but the call on whether the match will go ahead will only be taken on the match day.
A Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) source revealed: “It was cancelled owing to the air quality issue.”
Meanwhile, an ICC spokesperson told PTI: “We are currently assessing the situation. The ICC and our hosts the BCCI take the well-being of all participants seriously and are monitoring the air quality in Delhi. We are taking expert advice to assess the situation.”
On other hands, Bangladesh team director Khaled Mahmud revealed that the players developed cough after going out in the city, hence, the team management decided to cancel the first training session, as the air quality was in the "severe plus" category on November 3.
Mahmud said from the team hotel: “Many cricketers went out yesterday (Thursday) and now they are having some kind of coughing so there is a risk factor involved and so we cancelled the training so that they don't get unwell.”
(With PTI Inputs)
