Published 11:55 IST, October 28th 2019
India-Bangladesh T20I to be held in Delhi despite poor air quality
The 1st T20I between India and Bangladesh will be held in Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium as planned despite poor air quality. It will be played on November 3.
India have had a very good time post their World Cup 2019 debacle where they had suffered a heartbreaking loss at the hands of New Zealand in the semi-final. Since then, the Men In Blue had an outstanding Caribbean tour where they had defeated West Indies across all three formats. They then had a successful Test series against South Africa where India registered a clean sweep over the Proteas. The focus now shifts to the upcoming series against Bangladesh which starts from November 3. However, there seems to be a small concern but as per reports, things will take place very smoothly.
1st T20I to be played as per schedule
According to the BCCI sources, the first of the three-match T20I between India and Bangladesh, which will be held at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium will go on as planned despite poor air quality in Delhi deteriorating post-Diwali.
"We had taken permission from Delhi Pollution Control Committee and they gave November 3 as clear day so we decided to fix the Delhi venue after their consultation," BCCI sources said.
When asked what would happen if the situation worsened the BCCI source said, "As of now everything is fixed and I don't see any change in plan." The morning after Diwali, the air quality in Delhi dipped to the 'very poor' category according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR). An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'.The most polluted locations post-Diwali are Delhi University (North Campus), Pusa, Rohini-Punjabi Bagh, Wazirpur, Jahangirpuri, DTU, and Bawana. Poor air quality has been a concern in Delhi. In December 2017, Sri Lanka players find it difficult to breathe during the Test match in Delhi and even wore masks while fielding.
Bangladesh Tour of India
The Bangladesh Cricket Team will be touring India for a bilateral series next month. Both teams will be playing three T20Is and two Test matches from November 3 to 26. Meanwhile, this will also be the first instance where Bangladesh will be playing a T20I series and a full Test series in India. The Test series will be a part of the ICC World Test Championship.
(With ANI Inputs)
Updated 13:00 IST, October 28th 2019