BAN vs SL: Bangladesh Forced To Cancel Training Session Due To Delhi Air Pollution

On Friday, November 3, the Bangladesh National Cricket Team were forced to cancel their training session due to the Delhi air pollution, revealed team director Khaled Mahmud.

The Shakib Al Hasan-led Bangladesh have had a poor run in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 despite the competition being held in sub-continent conditions. They have faced losses in 6 out of 7 matches and have failed as a unit to find themselves in the 9th position on the points table.

Shakib Al Hasan & Co. have also become the first team to get knocked out of the competition. They will be next seen in action when they face Sri Lanka, who are also almost out of the competition, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Monday, November 6.

Ahead of their clash against the Lankan Lions, Team Bangladesh had planned to have three training sessions in Delhi with the first of those being held between 6 pm and 9 pm on Friday, which was eventually cancelled.

We want all the players to be fit – Bangladesh team director Khaled Mahmud

The reason behind the cancellation of the training session was the air emergency being declared in Delhi on Thursday, as the air quality index rose above 400 in several places. Also, the government has decided to close schools for a couple of days and has imposed restrictions on construction and vehicle traffic.

Speaking on Friday, Khaled Mahmud said that they skipped the session as a precautionary measure as they want all the players to be fit.

“We actually had a training session today, but due to worsening conditions, we didn’t take the chance,” Mahmud said on Friday, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.

“We have two more training days. Some of us developed coughing, so there’s a risk factor. We don’t want to get sick. We don’t know if things will improve, but we have training tomorrow. We want all the players to be fit for the important game coming up on November 6.”

Bangladesh’s next training session is scheduled to be held on Saturday and Sunday. Also, ESPNcricinfo has reported that the ICC and BCCI aren’t having any discussions to shift the Bangladesh-Sri Lanka match.