The first T20I between India and Bangladesh can’t be cancelled at the eleventh hour despite the poor air quality in the capital, said newly-elected BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, but he gave a hint that North Indian venues won’t be considered for matches after Diwali from now onwards.

“It’s too late to do anything, because a lot of preparations go into matches like tickets, crowds everything. So it’s not possible to cancel things at the last minute. Fingers crossed,” Sourav Ganguly said at Eden Gardens.

However, Bangladesh batsman Liton Das was seen with a mask during their first practice session on the stadium before the first game on Sunday. In 2017, Sri Lankan players were also seen playing a Test with the mask.

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“I think we will do that (consultation). In future, when we schedule, especially in the northern part of India during the winter, we will have to be a little bit more practical. But we have spoken to the Delhi authorities in the last two days. They’re expecting the match to go through. The match was already scheduled so we couldn’t cancel it at the last minute because we came in on October 23,” added Ganguly.

“I know post-Diwali it’s a bit tough in the North (India). I hope everything goes fine. I spoke to the groundsmen and they said once the sun comes out, it’ll be fine. He was my groundsman during Delhi Capitals days. I know him well so he said everything will be fine. We want the game to happen,” Sourav Ganguly concluded.