Delhi’s air pollution causes concern before Bangladesh-India T20I

The current air pollution in Delhi, the capital of India, has become a concern ahead of Bangladesh's T20 series against India, with the first T20I scheduled for November 3 at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium, formerly known as the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium.

In December 2017, unprecedented scenes of Sri Lankan cricketers wearing face masks raised questions over hosting major sports in New Delhi, where doctors are increasingly vocal about the health risks posed by smog.

A Hindustan Times report has said that rotation policy and the visiting team's travel route had forced the Indian Cricket Board's hand to schedule the first match in Delhi. "Just a couple of days before Diwali, the Air Quality Index (AQI) was rated as "very poor"," the report read.

"Look, we have factored in the post Diwali air pollution in Delhi but since the match is a week away, we are hopeful that the players won't face any health hazards," a senior BCCI official told PTI while acknowledging that there are practical concerns.

"The travel itinerary has been chalked in such a manner that Bangladesh will directly arrive in Delhi and exit the country from Kolkata. We wanted to make the travelling convenient that it starts from North, goes to West (Nagpur, Rajkot, Indore) and finishes in the east (Kolkata)," the official said.

It is expected that the Bangladesh team will be asked to carry face masks in case the need arises.

However, there could be some relief as a central government directive has stopped farmers in the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana from paddy stubble burning.

"We have told Punjab and Haryana to completely stop stubble burning at least for the next few critical days. Next three weeks, especially days between October 26 to November 4, are critical and we are taking care," Environment secretary C K Mishra said.