NEW DELHI – A blanket of hazardous smog in Delhi on Saturday forced the Sri Lankan cricket team to cancel their training session in the Indian capital ahead of their match against Bangladesh.
Indian capital New Delhi is regularly listed among the most polluted cities on Earth. The annual smog crisis is responsible for hundreds of thousands of premature deaths. This Saturday, New Delhi once again claimed the undesirable title of having the planet’s most toxic air, according to the air quality monitoring firm IQAir.
Sri Lanka has scrapped their scheduled practice session, although the specific reasons behind the cancellation remained undisclosed, an official from the local cricket association in Delhi said.
The decision to forgo training followed a similar move by Bangladesh, which had previously cancelled its own practice session in Delhi. The health risks posed by the pervasive smog were cited as the primary concern. Bangladesh team director Khaled Mahmud explained that some members of the team had experienced coughing, prompting reservations about their health. Uncertainty loomed about whether the air quality would improve in the near future.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) underscored its commitment to the well-being of all participants in the upcoming match, emphasising that they were actively monitoring Delhi’s air quality. The ICC further stated that it was seeking expert advice to assess the evolving situation.
In response to escalating air pollution levels in Mumbai and Delhi, World Cup organisers recently implemented a ban on fireworks during matches to prevent further exacerbation of the problem.
The concentration of the most dangerous airborne PM2.5 particles, so minuscule that they can infiltrate the bloodstream, surpassed the daily maximum recommended by the World Health Organization by more than 20 times on Saturday evening, according to IQAir.
