Environmentalists urge BCCI to shift India-Bangladesh T20I from Delhi

India is all set to host its Asian neighbors- Bangladesh– for a three-match T20I series followed by a couple of Test matches in Indore and Eden Gardens, Kolkata. But even before the first ball has been bowled, the series has been ired with a plethora of roadblocks. Firstly, it was the strike by the Bangladeshi cricketers against their cricket board which threatened to put the series in cold waters, and now it is the hazardous air of Delhi- the venue of the 1st T20I between the two sides.

The hazardous air prevailing in the national capital has been a source of contention for the past few days. The BCCI has been criticized for their choice of the venue at this time of the year and now the environmentalists have stepped in.

Environmentalists request BCCI President to change the venue of the first T20I

The Environmentalists wrote to the newly-elected BCCI President Sourav Ganguly on Tuesday, requesting him to consider moving the first India-Bangladesh T20I outside the national capital as the rapidly deteriorating health quality could prove to be hazardous for the players as well as thousands of cricket fans

“In the light of extreme pollution in Delhi, we would like to request you to consider shifting the venue for the first T20 outside of Delhi. 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,”  Jyoti Pande of Care For Air and Ravina Raj Kohli of My Right To Breathe said in the letter as quoted by The Quint.

Care for Air and My Right To Breathe are clean air awareness and advocacy NGO’s. The environmentalists also noted that outdoor aerobic activities raise the respiration rate of the human body, hence depositing even higher levels of toxins into our lungs and organs while also noting that thousands of fans will be put at risk in the wake of the prevailing situation.

“Thousands of innocent spectators at the venue will also be putting themselves at risk in order to watch the match in the prevailing situation. This puts our sportspersons at even greater risk when they play outdoors. Any match played outdoors harms the health and very lives of the players and it is irresponsible to schedule such sporting activities during times of such toxic air quality,” the environmentalists added.

It should also be noted that back in 2017, the Sri Lankan team was left gasping for air during a Test match in Delhi and the cricketers had to resort to using masks while fielding. On Monday, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal hoped that the pollution will not affect the match but a day later, smoky haste turned Delhi’s skies black as the air quality entered the “severe” category.

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