India VS Bangladesh match: Coaches say players are used to the hazardous air

NEW DELHI: In Delhi, at the Feroz Shah Kotla, a dull, poisonous haze has been settled grimly and steadfastly over the ground. The smog appears to be a screen of smoke. The Bangladeshi cricketers have been seen training with pollution masks on.

On Friday, the air quality of Delhi had dropped to "severe-plus", termed "emergency" levels. Schools have been shut. A public health emergency was declared. As per officials, the air lingering in the atmosphere of the city has become a toxic cocktail and the general advice is to avoid "undue and prolonged exposure" and "minimize unnecessary travel".

The Bangladesh coach Russell Domingo grandly declared, "The weather has been magnificent. For sure we have some scratchy eyes, maybe little sore throats now and then but…nobody is being sick or dying or anything like that."

Vikram Rathour team India's batting coach has said, "You're asking the wrong person, I think. The game has been scheduled and we're here to play. No special measure is being taken (to safeguard the health of the players). We're used to these conditions."

The previous day, Rohit Sharma had said: "When we played against Sri Lanka in a Test match two years ago, it (the pollution) didn't affect us. Two years ago, though, it did affect the players, but the lessons of December 2017 now lie completely forgotten. That time, nobody was dying or anything like that", but they sure were sick as India and Sri Lanka - most of the visiting players in masks - completed five days of a Test in hazardous AQI levels."

Domingo honestly expressed and said, "We know Sri Lanka struggled the last time. Obviously you don't want to be in it for 6-7 hours. A three-hour session is as long as you'd probably want to be in at the moment."

Experts and doctors have advised the population of Delhi, not to even jog outdoors, and area-wide emergency measures are being undertaken.