World Cup clash goes ahead in pollution-hit Delhi

NEW DELHI: Bangladesh and Sri Lanka´s Cricket World Cup match in New Delhi was given the green light on Monday, as the smog-choked Indian capital was ranked as the planet´s most polluted major city.

The air quality has hovered between “poor” to “severe” in the capital, which has a population of 30 million, in the last few days. Some players and coaches from both teams trained with face masks on the eve of the match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

Earlier practice sessions were also cancelled while some Bangladesh players who have asthma were confined to their hotel. Early in the Sri Lanka innings levels of the most dangerous PM2.5 particles -- so tiny they can enter the bloodstream -- stood at 184 micrograms per cubic metre according to IQAir, more than 12 times the daily maximum recommended by the World Health Organisation. The Swiss-based international monitoring company ranked Delhi as the world most-polluted major city on Monday. According to the International Cricket Council (ICC) guidelines air quality is usually assessed and considered by match officials and is treated as other weather matters.

Pollution in Delhi hit severe levels during a Test match in December, 2017 when Sri Lankan players came out wearing masks after the tea break.