Smog: All eyes on match referee at Kotla for 1st T20 match

Despite BCCI and DDCA being adamant to hold the first T20 match between India and Bangladesh at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium (Feroz Shah Kotla) on Sunday evening in extreme air pollution and hazardous conditions, the final decision of its possibility remained with the match referee.

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So all eyes will be on Ranjan Madugalle, who is the referee (final authority) of the match, who can still declare the condition as "unplayable" before the match commenced.

According to ICC rules, a match referee is a final authority who can decide or rule against the conduct of a match if he feels the pitch, ground or playing condition (including air pollution), or visibility were not conducive to hold an international match.

BCCI sources have told Republic TV that the match referee was not only concerned about the extreme pollution but also the visibility factor inside the stadium.

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"Smog is definitely an issue along with low visibility despite floodlights. Smog stays within the stadium and as result visibility dips alarmingly in the evening. So the chances of match interruption or delayed start or at worst no play due to pollution & low visibility cannot be ruled out," the source said on condition of anonymity.

It is learned that Madugalle has asked the BCCI and DDCA to monitor the visibility factor from the ground and give an hourly update since Sunday morning. And the update has been anything but encouraging.

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