Like rain and light, consider pollution, says medical body
MUMBAI: The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to consider pollution as a factor while determining playing conditions for a venue after Sri Lankan players complained of the air quality during the Delhi Test.
The third Test saw play being halted on several occasions with players like Suranga Lakmal and Lahiru Gamage even throwing up on the field. The former even walked off after bowling five deliveries in the 127th over of the India first innings.
WAR OF WORDS
It stirred a debate between experts and fans of both the nations if the visitors had overreacted. Mohammad Shami too threw up later in the Test.
While many slammed the government and associations for not taking adequate measures to curb the menace, the IMA’S jibe comes as a fresh one for the board.
“Greatly troubled about the recent cricket match between India and Sri Lanka in Delhi played under conditions of high levels of air pollution,” ANI quoted IMA as stating on its official Twitter account.
“Air pollution also reduces performance of athletes. In a situation where milliseconds and millimetres often determine success of athletes, air pollution can be an important factor in affecting their performance. Rain and poor light are taken into consideration when determining suitable playing conditions, we suggest that atmospheric pollution should now also be included in the assessing criteria for a match.”
The air quality index, which mentions 301-400 as a value on the higher side of the “very poor” category, read 379 on Tuesday morning in Delhi.
The Sri Lankan players could also be seen wearing masks from the second day onwards to tackle pollution .
While the Test ended in a draw and India went on to match a record ninth successive series win, the match will perhaps go down in history books as the first instance when play had to be halted for poor “air quality”.