India-Bangladesh T20I in Delhi to go as planned, says Ganguly
What's the story
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has said the first T20I between India and Bangladesh in Delhi will go ahead as planned. There has been a lot of concern surrounding the air pollution in the capital which is at a severe level. Delhi's Air Quality Index is abysmal after Diwali, besides the stubble burning from neighboring states. Here's more.
1st T20I
India to go ahead with Delhi T20I despite poor AQI
When ANI contacted the BCCI boss to ask whether the match in the national capital would take place, he replied: "Yes, it will". The air quality in Delhi is a worrying sign and things haven't improved much across the city. The air quality in Delhi reached the 463-mark on Monday post the Diwali celebrations. On Thursday, the figure is still above 400 across places.
Request
Environmentalists had urged Dada to shift first T20I
Recently, activists Jyoti Pande and Ravina Raj Kohli wrote an open letter to Dada. They stated making the team play for three-four hours in the Delhi air would adversely impact them. "Making our cricketers play a physically demanding sport for 3-4 hours in Delhi's toxic air will end up doing more damage to our cricket team's health in the long run," they wrote.
Team India
Team India to train indoors ahead of Delhi T20I
Earlier, according to a report in Mumbai Mirror, keeping in mind the poor Air Quality Index, Team India players will be given the option to train in the gym alone after a look at the weather this weekend. As per sources, the major issue could be the training especially if the weather doesn't improve. Optional training session are expected on both the days.
Gambhir's views
'People in Delhi should be more concerned about the pollution'
Gautam Gambir said on Wednesday the pollution in Delhi is a serious issue than having a cricket match. "It is a far serious issue than having a game of cricket or any other sports matches happens in Delhi. For us I think people living in Delhi should be more concerned about the pollution levels rather than the cricket match that happens," Gambhir told ANI.
Stubble burning
Stubble burning a major concern for Delhi's pollution
As per AQI standards, 0-50 is considered good', 51-100 is satisfactory, 101-200 is moderate, 201-300 is poor and 301-400 is very poor. Anything above 400 is considered to be severe, which can cause serious health issues. However, it isn't just Diwali that is the major cause of concern. Farm fires in Punjab and Haryana and the share of stubble burning have caused severe damage.