Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
Credits: Twitter

The International Cricket Council (ICC) was closely monitoring the opening T20I match between India and Bangladesh at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday. However, the world cricket body would not want to talk much about the matter because the match has already been over. According to Mirror, the top officials of ICC were monitoring the entire situation through a match referee identified as Ranjan Madugalle.

With the presence of the on-field umpires – Nitin Menon, Nandan, TV official Chettithody Shamshuddin and reserve official Anil Chaudhary, all being Indians, an objection from them was not really expected but the match referee is a neutral official and the international cricket body was in touch with him.

India vs Bangladesh 2019, Delhi T20I Smog
Credits – Twitter

Though it was not quickly known as to what would be the match referee’s report about the venue and the poisonous air condition and what came to light was the fact that all of the match officials were pretty much convinced that the situation was under control when the game kick-started at 7 pm.

The air levels have continued to remain toxic, partly because of bursting crackers and partly due to crop-stubble burning. Following this situation, a health-related emergency was declared in the state. The schools are closed till November 5.

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Players and umpires felt uncomfortable in Delhi

On top of that, players and umpires were find it hard to deal with coarse throat which is followed by burning eyes. India’s governing body- Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) met Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in a bid to take safety precautions ahead of the intriguing Sunday T20I contest in Delhi.

Bangladesh Team Members Wear Masks To Counter Delhi Pollution
Bangladesh players wear masks during training. (Credits: Twitter)

It has been learnt that the construction process around the venue came to a halt and excessive watering method was done to negate the pollution levels in the air. This made it a bit easier for the players from both the teams to brave the conditions.

An agency report went on to add saying that the Delhi government issued health emergency across NCR as the hazardous air quality in the capital city had reached extreme levels on Sunday morning with Air Quality Index (AQI) hitting the toxic level at 999.

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly took to Twitter to thank the players for coping with the testing conditions. “Thank u to both the teams to play this game @ImRo45 @BCBtigers under tuff (sic) conditions .. well done Bangladesh.”