'Excessive fog' leads to T20I abandonment without a ball being bowled
CHENNAI: By the time the fourth T20I between India and South Africa in Lucknow was officially called off on Wednesday, two and a half hours had passed. It was supposed to be a 6.30PM toss and 7 PM start at the Ekana Stadium, but after multiple inspections every half hour by the umpires, the match was abandoned a little after 9.30PM. "The fourth India-South Africa T20I is called off due to excessive fog," said the BCCI in a statement.
While the official word came hours later, long before the scheduled start, the signs were there. Even as the players were warming up before the toss, India all-rounder Hardik Pandya had turned up at the venue wearing a mask. With floodlights on, the visibility at the venue seemed bad to say the least. The Air Quality Index (AQI) in Lucknow on Tuesday evening painted a bleak picture too. According to AQI.in, the figure was lingering between 410-425, a number deemed hazardous. Particulate Matter (PM10) reading was 362 µg/m³ which is considered severe and Particulate Matter (PM2.5) was at hazardous level (256 µg/m³). As it got darker, things only got worse before the final call was taken.
Several cities, including New Delhi, in North India during winter, suffer from very high AQI. Earlier, when the BCCI announced the home season schedule, they had scheduled a Test match against South Africa in New Delhi in November. Questions were raised about the scheduling, considering the pollution in the capital city during winter. Soon, that match was swapped for one against West Indies in early October with Kolkata hosting the SA match.
On Wednesday, BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla, also from Uttar Pradesh, was at the venue and even spoke with the officials at some point. With the situation not improving, the match was eventually called off. When asked about the match getting delayed and the AQI being severely high, Shukla said that the BCCI will address the issue before finalising the itinerary in future but he said fog was the major issue. "Fog is a major issue in Northern India during winters. We will address this issue in future while finalising the itinerary," Shukla told this daily.
This is not the first time 'fog' at a venue has affected a match in India. Back in 2017, a Test match between India and Sri Lanka in December was interrupted due to poor air quality in Delhi. Sri Lankan players complained of vomiting, using "oxygen things" in dressing room. "It is well documented that Delhi has high levels of pollution," SL coach Nic Pothas had said at the time. "They had got extremely high at one point, we had players coming off the field and vomiting. There were oxygen things in the dressing room. It is not normal for players to suffer in that way while playing the game. From our point of view, it has to be stated that it is a very very unique case," he had added.
Since then, this is the first time Lucknow or New Delhi hosted a match in the month of December. Going forward, the BCCI will have to take into account the conditions.