The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) sources informed that the first T20I match between India and Bangladesh will be played as per the schedule at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi despite the air quality in Delhi deteriorating post-Diwali.

“We had taken permission from Delhi Pollution Control Committee and they gave November 3 as clear day so we decided to fix the Delhi venue after their consultation,” BCCI sources informed. When he was asked what would happen if the situation got worst the BCCI source said, “As of now everything is fixed and I don’t see any change in plan.”

According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), the morning after Diwali, the air quality became “very poor” in Delhi. An AQI between 0 and 50 is known as “good”, 51 and 100 are considered as “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 “moderate”, 201 and 300 “poor”, 301 and 400 “very poor”, and 401 and 500 are “severe”. The most polluted locations post-Diwali have been identified are Delhi University (North Campus), Pusa, Rohini-Punjabi Bagh, Wazirpur, Jahangirpuri, DTU and Bawana.

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In Delhi, poor air quality has been a concern since long. In December 2017, Sri Lanka players failed to breathe normally during the Test match in Delhi and they were even seen wearing masks while fielding. Bangladesh, however, are all set to tour India where they are scheduled to play three-match T20I series and two Test matches in India. The first T20I will be held in Delhi on November 3.