On Wednesday, a rare and strange incident took place in Indian cricket. An international match, the India vs. South Africa 4th T20I in Lucknow, got canceled without any play because of heavy fog. The Air Quality Index (AQI) in Lucknow on Wednesday was above 400, indicating a hazardous level of air pollution, which raised doubts about the BCCI’s priority of players’ health. The umpires conducted multiple inspections and eventually the match was declared off as nothing could be done due to poor visibility caused by thick smog at the Ekana stadium.
How BCCI Made a Scheduling Mess
The BCCI’s decision to hold matches in north India during the winter months specifically in the case of the T20I series was open to criticism. The series was to be held in the cities of New Chandigarh, Dharamsala, Lucknow, Ranchi, Raipur, Visakhapatnam, Cuttack, Ahmedabad, Guwahati, and Kolkata during the months of November and December, comprising tests, ODIs, and T20Is along with the full India vs South Africa series.
This period coincides with the time when levels of pollutants in the air are usually at their highest in host cities such as Lucknow, New Chandigarh, and Dharamsala.
What Went on in Lucknow
The fourth T20I was announced as a non-event without any ball bowled, the cause being “excessive fog.” Actually, it was a thick mist of smoke that totally covered the stadium and made seeing anything almost impossible. Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya was spotted wearing a surgical mask to deal with the air pollution during the Indian team’s warm-up before the match.
The match, which was to have begun at 7 PM, was eventually abandoned at 9:30 PM after the sixth check-up, although it was more of a formality with those present knowing that visibility would only get worse as the night continued.
The players had finished their warm-up session before 7:30 PM and went back into their dressing rooms. The large number of audience that had come to see the match despite the cold weather had also started to gradually leave the arena by 9 PM.
How Did BCCI Respond
The vice-president of BCCI and the powerful man of the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association for many years Rajeev Shukla stepped out to the pitch during one of the inspections, but his gestures after talking to the match officials showed that he was upset.
Due to the fact that there was no reserve day, both teams are now going to Ahmedabad for the last T20I on Friday, with India already having won the series 2-1.
How BCCI Might Have Prevented the Issue
The BCCI might have gone ahead with their rotation policy, yet the board could have still taken the opportunity to switch the venues and let the New Zealand series for the white-ball, which is to start on January 11.
The ‘Men in Blue’ are going to have a white-ball series against New Zealand at locations in western and southern India: Vadodara, Rajkot, Indore, Nagpur, Raipur, Visakhapatnam, Thiruvananthapuram, and only one game in the northeastern city of Guwahati.
North-zone venues usually have severe weather issues during winter, which hampers the conducting of matches.
In Dharamsala, surrounded by the snowy Dhauladhar ranges, the temperature was below 10 degrees during the third T20I last week.
After the match, India’s mystery bowler Varun Chakravarthy who is from Tamil Nadu said that he found the conditions particularly difficult to bowl in.
“I’ve never played at such a cold ground, so it was a bit tough for me,” he said.
The AQI in Dharamsala on the day of the match was in the ‘poor’ category, whereas in New Chandigarh it was even worse during the 2nd T20I as it was in the ‘severe’ zone. The BCCI’s operations team planning might have been wrong if they had not considered historical weather data of north-Indian cities or if they had not thought of a plan B to start matches in the afternoon, which would have at least guaranteed a game for the ticket-paying public.
