Men’s ODI WC: ICC says situation being assessed for Sri Lanka-Bangladesh game due to air pollution in New Delhi

New Delhi, Nov 4 (IANS) With Sri Lanka cancelling their practice session at the Arun Jaitley Stadium here on Saturday due to air pollution, just a day after Bangladesh cancelled its practice session on Friday evening due to the same reason, a spokesperson from the International Cricket Council (ICC) said the situation for the league match between the two teams on Monday is being currently assessed.

New Delhi has been under heavy smog for the last five days, caused by an unprecedented spike in the Air Quality Level (AQI) of the national capital. The city's AQI went from 351 on Thursday morning to 471 on Friday morning, hitting the severe category.

It forced the schools to be closed for two days and non-essential construction work being banned, along with restrictions on vehicular movement. On Saturday morning, the AQI level was recorded at 413, with the overall air quality still at severe level. The city is scheduled to host its last ODI World Cup game between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh on Monday.

“The ICC and our hosts the BCCI take the wellbeing of all participants seriously and are monitoring the air quality in Delhi. We are taking expert advice to assess the situation,” said the ICC spokesperson to IANS.

IANS also understands that air quality is assessed in the same way as other weather conditions by the match officials to decide whether it is fine enough to play the game or not on the match day.

Sri Lanka, the 1996 champions, were scheduled to practice at the Arun Jaitley Stadium from 2pm to 5pm on Saturday in preparation for their Men’s ODI World Cup clash against Bangladesh on Monday. But with smoky haze, AQI levels going past 400-mark and air quality deteriorating, they chose to cancel their practice session.

Many players from the Sri Lankan team have already experienced playing cricket in polluted air of New Delhi when they played a Test match against India at this venue in December 2017. That time saw five players fielding with masks on, with several of them receiving medical attention for respiratory problems and vomited in the dressing room.

Bangladesh also have a practice session at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Saturday evening from 6-9pm, but there is no word yet on it taking place as per the schedule. "We actually had a training session today, but due to worsening conditions, we didn't take the chance."

"We have two more training days. Some of us developed coughing, so there's a risk factor. We don't want to get sick. We don't know if things will improve, but we have training tomorrow. We want all the players to be fit for the important game coming up on November 6," Khaled Mahmud, Bangladesh team director, was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo on Friday, over the cancellation of the practice session for Friday.

This week of the Men’s ODI World Cup has seen smog and air pollution in New Delhi and Mumbai become a huge talking point. The BCCI previously said no fireworks displays will be held for the remaining matches in Mumbai and Delhi because of air pollution, with captain Rohit Sharma expressing concern over it ahead of India’s clash against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium.

“In an ideal world, you don't want a situation like this. But I'm pretty sure the concerned people are taking the necessary steps to avoid these kind of situation. It's not ideal, everyone knows that.”

“But, looking at our future generation, your kids, my kids; it's quite important that they get to live without any fear. So, every time I get to speak outside of cricket, if we are not discussing cricket, I always talk about this, that you know we have to look after our future generation.”