Team India's stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma waded into New Delhi's air pollution controversy, saying that the team did not have any problems when it last played in the capital. He was referring to the India-Sri Lanka Test match played there two years ago. Interestingly, the Lankan players had come out to field wearing masks during the match because of the air pollution.
Sharma will lead India in the three-match T20I series beginning on November 3 in Delhi, in skipper Virat Kohli's absence. His comments come at a time when environmentalists have been calling for a change in venue considering the players' health. Air pollution levels remained in the “severe” category post Diwali, in Delhi. November is when pollution levels usually skyrocket in the national capital.
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“I have just landed from Mumbai and came straight to the hotel. I haven’t had the time to assess the situation. But, as far as I know, the match will be played as per schedule on 3rd (November 3). We didn’t have a problem when we played the Test match here (India-Sri Lanka match in December 2017),” he said.
Sharma was earlier trolled on social media for his recent tweet on Diwali where he had urged people to celebrate a cracker-free festival. He shared a video showing a dog being scared by the sound of bursting crackers and asked people to keep the animals in mind. But netizens dug up his old tweet where he had talked about enjoying bursting crackers, and used it to troll him.
Meanwhile, shrugging aside talk of split-captaincy, Sharma reiterated that leading India was an honour and he didn’t think about it in term of a match, a series or two.
He said he is looking forward to playing in India's first Day-Night Test in Kolkata against Bangladesh from November 22 onwards. “I feel it will be quite an exciting match. It is India's first-ever day and night match. I have played one match in the Duleep Trophy with the pink ball. It was a good, new experience. It will be the same in Kolkata, too.”
On his record-breaking run spree, the Indian opener in all formats said, “My job is to keep playing and performing, be it Bangladesh or West Indies later on.”
The Indian team will arrive in Delhi by tonight and is scheduled to train for the upcoming T20I tomorrow afternoon at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground.
