India and Sri Lanka are currently playing the third and final test at Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi. However, the match has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons over the past couple of days.
The smog and rising pollution levels have paved the way for numerous interruptions in the day’s play on the second day of the test match. However, with three days remaining to be played and Sri Lanka’s reluctance to risk their player’s health proves to be the major hurdle for the test match at the moment.
Match referee Boon is willing to study the weather conditions in Delhi and assurance over the continuation of the match is not yet revealed. As many as four Sri Lanka players were affected during the second day’s play as they could not tolerate the pollution in the capital city of India.
Fast bowlers Lahiru Gamage, Suranga Lakmal, top order batsman Dhananjaya de Silva and reserve Jeffrey Vandersay have all felt the wrath of Delhi weather. Boon who is currently studying the conditions of Delhi could decide against playing if they are not suitable for a high sporting event.
He also indicated that the match could be called off if both the captains agree that the match should be abandoned or if the doctors adjudge the conditions to be unsafe. The Indian contingent were also seen wearing the masks before the lunch break.
Both Kuldeep Yadav and Rohit Sharma were seen wearing the masks while the likes of Ishant Sharma, Murali Vijay and Ravichandran Ashwin were also struggling during the day’s play.
“The bowlers obviously were struggling. The match referee was in our change room when Suranga Lakmal started vomiting. Doctors were in there as well. We had oxygen cylinders and it was tough,” Sri Lanka’s coach Nic Pothas told journalists. “It is an abnormal case. Match referee and umpires will file a report and we will leave it with the ICC,” Pothas added.
Delhi pollution has been an alarm for both the state and central governments over the past few weeks. But the amount of measures that are being taken to curb the pollution is negligible as the test game could become the first ever to be called off due to alarming pollution levels.