Mumbai: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) may shift the knockout stage of its men’s Under-23 State A One-Day tournament from Delhi to Mumbai due to the high level of air pollution in the national capital. On Thursday, the BCCI verbally asked the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) to prepare to host the knockout games from November 25 to December 1.“We got a call from the BCCI yesterday, asking us to stage the Under-23 one-day knockouts due to the high air pollution in the capital. We will get formal communication from the BCCI in this regard today. We will have to see how we can schedule these matches at the Wankhede Stadium and the MCA ground in BKC, which have been kept as standbys by the BCCI, because we are playing our practice matches to prepare for the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy at the Wankhede Stadium,” MCA secretary Unmesh Khanvilkar told TOI.
“Nothing has been finalised as yet,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told this paper.As toxic air continues to worsen in New Delhi and surrounding areas, the Supreme Court had on Wednesday directed the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to examine whether schools should postpone open-air sports competitions scheduled for November and December. On Thursday, the air quality reached the “severe” category, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) touching 400, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). According to the forecast for the next few days, the air quality is expected to deteriorate further, remaining in the “very poor” to “severe” category, according to the Ministry of Earth Sciences’ Air Quality Early Warning System.The last league-stage match of the tournament will be played in Vadodara on Friday. Eight teams will participate in the knockout stage of the event. The BCCI had earlier rescheduled the first Test against South Africa from Delhi to Kolkata after being criticised for staging a game in the capital during the peak pollution season. In 2017, when India played a Test against Sri Lanka in the first week of December, some Sri Lankan players had to wear masks on the field due to severe air pollution as the AQI spiked from 316 (very poor) to 390 on Day Three.
