Winter is slowly becoming a nightmare for residents of Delhi. Every year, India's capital city sees air pollution reach toxic levels through a combination of crop burning in neighbouring states, vehicular emission and absence of cross winds around this time.
With day-to-day life becoming a difficult proposition for Delhiites, the Bangladesh cricket team arrived in the city to prepare for the first match of three-game T20 series against India. The Delhi T20 is scheduled to be held on Sunday but there is growing concern about the scheduling of the match.
In 2017, Sri Lanka played a Test match in Delhi in December with all players struggling to breathe. As many as nine Sri Lankan players wore masks during the Test that put a question mark over Delhi's ability to hold competitive matches during the winter months.
More of the same is expected this week. Bangladesh players trained at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Friday but refused to complain about the air quality.
However, Gautam Gambhir – former India opener and now a member of Parliament from Delhi – said the city should not host matches when pollution is such a serious problem.
"I do not think any match should happen in Delhi until the pollution level comes under control," Gambhir was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Air quality index in the city rose above the 400 mark with anything above 60 deemed to unhealthy. Delhi has regularly been labelled the most polluted city in the world.
