India-Bangladesh T20I to be held as planned despite poor air quality

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) sources said that the first T20I match between India and Bangladesh will be held as scheduled at Arun Jaitley Stadium here despite 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 will be playing three-T20I and two Test matches in India. The first T20I will be played in Delhi on November 3.