Pollution Concerns Over SL, Bangladesh Battle At Kotla

ICC is taking expert advice as heavy pollution in Delhi forces both teams to curtail their training for Monday's game

- Sandip Sikdar

Sri Lanka's World Cup semi-final qualification hope hangs by a thread. Bangladesh, on the other hand, have their best opportunity to end a six-game losing streak. Yet the discourse on the eve of the fifth and final game in the Capital wasn't about cricket.

Both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh players have been grappling with the severe air pollution here. Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) stayed way above the 450-mark (severe) on Sunday. Bangladesh cancelled a training session on Friday but turned up for practice the next two days wearing face masks. Sri Lanka called off their training on Saturday and several players decided to stay indoors on Sunday. "Our doctor has kept a close eye on players. Some didn't turn up for practice as they are asthmatic, so they stayed indoors. Even for practice, we were very conscious. We train what we have to train and they go back into the dressing room. They don't spend time (outside) unless they're bowling or batting. We have taken some measures to minimise our exposure before the game," Bangladesh's Sri Lankan head coach Chandika Hathurusingha said at the prematch media conference on Sunday.