MUMBAI: Facing fire after it scheduled a Test match between India and South Africa in November in Delhi for November 14-18 2025-a time of the year when the national capital is worst-affected with high air pollution levels due to the bursting of crackers in Diwali, the Board of Control for Cricket in India, TOI has exclusively learnt, has decided to swap Delhi as a venue for the Test with Kolkata.
"The Arun Jaitley Delhi will now hold the second Test between India and West Indies between Oct 10-14, which was originally supposed to be held at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Kolkata, meanwhile, will now hold the first Test between India and South Africa from Nov 14-18. This has been done to avoid the players from being affected by possibly high pollution levels at that time of the year. The BCCI priotises the welfare and well-being of the players and their health at all times. A formal announcement regarding this swap will be made in the next couple of days," a reliable source in the BCCI told TOI on Wednesday.
Apparently, the BCCI has reached the rather sensible decision after studying the pollution pattern of Delho for the last decade or so.
Pollution in the winter months, especially in Nov just after Diwali has been a huge concern in recent years. During the 2023 ODI World Cup ,there were serious concerns ahead of the Bangladesh versus Sri Lanka fixture on Nov 6 and the former even cancelled training sessions.
Before it had a rethink on the serious issue, the BCCI had defended its decision to schedule the match in November for Delhi, saying that it had gone by its ‘rotation policy’.
In December 2017, some Sri Lankan players wore masks during a Test match in Delhi and even puked on the field, and in November 2019, two Bangladesh players vomited on the field during an ODI. During the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy season, two Ranji Trophy matches in Delhi in Nov were cancelled, due to players suffering headaches and burning sensation in the eyes. Over the last few years, medical experts have repeatedly warned about the risks of playing outdoor sport or exercising in Delhi in Nov due to the high levels of pollution, saying that the negative effects of such physical outdoor activities could be long-lasting.
Delhi last hosted a Test in Feb 2023 against Australia.
'Final in Kolkata would've been washed out on reserve day too'Meanwhile, defending the decision to hold the IPL-2025 final in Ahmedabad instead of Kolkata, where the final was originally scheduled, a BCCI source said, "It started raining from 9pm till 1am in Kolkata, and it heavily rained there today too. If the final was held in Kolkata, even the reserve day's play would have been washed out. The decision to shift the final from Kolkata to Ahmedabad was not based on any sort of politics, as is being alleged by a few people, but was based on scientific inputs," a source in the BCCI said.
Ahmedabad, which had a rain forecast of only three per cent on the day of the final, saw a full 40-over final at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Tuesday night between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders, which RCB won by six runs. The start of the second qualifier was delayed by rain, but eventually that match, between Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians, was held without any interruptions, without losing a single over.
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