Delhi T20I: Bangladesh win toss, to bowl first amid smog concerns

There were calls to reschedule the match because of severe air pollution in Delhi

delhi-t20-smog-afp Indian cricketers warm up before the start of the first T20I match of a three-match series between Bangladesh and India, at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi | AFP

Bangladesh won the toss and chose to bowl first against India in the first T20I of the three-match series, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, amid concerns over the severe air pollution in the national capital.

All-rounder Shivam Dube will make his debut for India while opening batsman Mohammad Naim will play his first T20I for Bangladesh. Rohit Sharma is leading the side in the absence of regular skipper Virat Kohli, who was rested for this series. The visitors are being led by Mahmudullah, in the absence of Shakib Al Hasan, who is serving an ICC ban.

The first T20I between India and Bangladesh has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. First came ICC's two-year ban on the most popular player in the Bangladesh squad—Shakib—for not reporting three approaches by an alleged Indian bookie.

Then came the dilemma of holding the match in Delhi at a time when its air quality is at “severe plus” level post Diwali and stubble burning in the neighbouring states. Former India players Bishen Singh Bedi and Gautam Gambhir, and fans on social media, have slammed the BCCI for scheduling the match in the national capital at this time of the year.

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The Environmental Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) had, on Friday, declared a public health emergency in Delhi-NCR due to the severe air pollution.

Though Indian and Bangladeshi players have downplayed the pollution fears and have agreed to play, the visitors were seen practising with masks on. Bangladesh coach Russell Domingo admitted that some players have itchy eyes and sore throats but “nobody is dying”. BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, too, said that the Board will be more practical in future in scheduling matches in Delhi and other parts of north India at this time of the year. He, however, ruled out shifting the venue at the last minute due to logistic issues.

A day before the match at the Arun Jaitley stadium, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) on Saturday said it has intensified water sprinkling in the area to curb dust and air pollution around the playground.

Delhi's Central Zone Deputy Commissioner Aman Gupta along with senior officials of SDMC and Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA) inspected the stadium and took stock of special arrangements made there to curb pollution in area around the stadium, the civic body said in a statement.

During the inspection, the deputy commissioner instructed officials to take stringent actions instantly and issue hefty challans to anyone found burning garbage, carrying out construction activities or dumping wastes in the area.

Two mechanised sweepers are continuously mopping and cleaning roads near the stadium, Gupta said.

Surprisingly, the light rain on Saturday evening did little to improve the visibility or help the smog to settle.

Two years ago, during a Test match between India and Sri Lanka at this venue, the Lankan players had come out to field wearing masks because of the air pollution. Fast bowlers Lahiru Gamage and Suranga Lakmal and all-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva had, reportedly, fallen sick during the match.

Playing XIs:

India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Krunal Pandya, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Deepak Chahar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Khaleel Ahmed

Bangladesh: Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Naim, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Afif Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Aminul Islam, Shafiul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Al-Amin Hossain.