SA Test in Delhi: Avg AQI in November 300 plus, BCCI says ‘pollution doesn’t happen every year

NOVEMBER IS when Delhi’s air is the most toxic, earning the city the ignominy of being the world’s most polluted national capital – for the sixth straight year, according to the World Air Quality Report for 2024 released last month. Yet, the Indian cricket board has gone ahead and slotted the opening Test of the series against South Africa for November 14 to 18 this year in Delhi, with Devajit Saikia, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), saying, “Pollution doesn’t happen every year”.

The Delhi Test takes place three weeks after Diwali, around the time the city’s Air Quality Index spikes annually. Over the last five years, the average AQI for the month has been over 328, pushing the capital consistently in the ‘very poor’ air category.

But the BCCI insists they factored every eventuality and stuck to their rotation policy before making Team India’s home itinerary public on Wednesday. “We have considered all factors and have gone by the rotation policy after discussing it with everyone. The pollution issue doesn’t happen every year,” Saikia told The Indian Express.

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Delhi roads during winter. (FILE photo) Delhi roads during winter. (FILE photo)

In 2017, when India played Sri Lanka in a Test at Delhi in the first week of December, the average AQI in Delhi was 316, which falls in the very poor category. It went up to 390 on December 4, Day 3 of the game, forcing some of the players to take the field in masks. On Day 2, Lankan pacer Lahiru Gamage, in the middle of an over, struggled to continue as he faced respiratory problems. This led to a 17-minute stoppage. Another fast bowler Suranga Lakmal complained of nausea as he rushed indoors and threw up. At one point in the Test, Sri Lanka had just 10 fit players in the field and oxygen cylinders were rushed to their dressing room.

The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) admits that they could face a similar situation this time too, but insist they are prepared.

“The DDCA will take all measures possible to ensure players are comfortable when they play the Test match. Also, the Arun Jaitley Stadium is located in a relatively open area with more green area around. So the air quality is better than in most other areas,” said DDCA secretary Ashok Sharma.

He added that Delhi had been waiting for its turn to host a Test match. “Delhi had not been allotted a Test match for a while. The BCCI allotted us the game, so we have to go by the calendar. In November, the pollution, if at all, is less compared to December,” the official said.

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Data, however, shows that the Capital witnesses a slight dip in high pollution days in December when compared to November, though it remains in the “very poor” category both months.

Even in the first few months of the year, sportspersons have complained of pollution in Delhi. Earlier this year, Danish shuttler Mia Blichfeldt, a participant at the mid-January India Open event, had called the capital’s pollution levels “unhealthy and unacceptable”.

“It’s 2 years in a row now that I get sick during India Open,” Blichfeldt wrote on her Instagram page after returning home to Denmark.

“It’s really hard to accept that many weeks of work and preparing gets wasted because of bad conditions. It’s not fair to anyone that we have to train and play in smog, birds shitting on the courts, and dirt everywhere.”

‘Shami showed signs of struggle’

Sri Lankan spinner Dilruwan Perera. who played in the 2017 Test, still can’t forget that Delhi experience. “It was very tough from the moment we landed in Delhi, but we gradually got used to it,” he told The Indian Express. “But the fast bowlers were really struggling. I really felt for blokes like Lakmal and Gamage. Even for their fast bowlers, they had issues. Shami was the first person to show signs of struggle and it wasn’t just us. A few of us even vomited and weren’t feeling comfortable. Then we soon realised that taking off the mask was not a bright idea,” he added.

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India vs Sri Lanka Test from 2017 in Delhi. (FILE photo) India vs Sri Lanka Test from 2017 in Delhi. (FILE photo)

However, the South Africans haven’t yet raised the issue of pollution for the Test in Delhi. When contacted, Cricket South Africa CEO Pholetsi Moseki refused to comment.

‘Risk is definitely there’, says top pulmonologist

Dr S K Chhabra, Head of Department (Pulmonary Sleep and Critical Care Medicine) at Primus Super Speciality Hospital, warned of the risks of playing a sport in November in the Capital.

“The risk is definitely there. If you go by the past trends and records, November onwards, AQI always touches peak levels. Unless something drastic is done to curb this, it is bound to happen again. Whenever such episodes (pollution) happen, we advise people not to exercise outdoors. The reason is because when you exercise, your breathing rate and breathing depth increases and you inhale twice or thrice the amount of pollution than you would otherwise,” Dr Chhabra said.

(Inputs by Nikhil Ghanekar)

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