Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Shashi Tharoor on Thursday made an appeal to Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice-president Rajiv Shukla to shift international matches out of the northern part of the country during winters to the southern part, especially to his home state, Kerala.
Tharoor's remarks came after the fourth T20I between India and South Africa at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow was abandoned due to excessive fog and poor air quality. The game, which was initially scheduled to start at 7 PM, went through six inspections by the umpires before being called off at 9:25 PM. Ahmedabad will host the fifth game on Friday.
Speaking to the media outside Parliament in New Delhi, Tharoor spotted Shukla and immediately went to him. “Rajiv ji, I was saying that apart from scheduling matches in North India in January, Kerala aaiye (come to Kerala),” Tharoor told Shukla.
In reply, Shukla assured Tharoor that the BCCI will look into the matter. “Will look into the scheduling. From December 15 to January 15, can we allocate matches to South India instead of North India? Kerala already gets them; there is a rotation policy in place.”
When Shukla reminded him that Kerala can't get all the matches during this period of the year, Tharoor laughed and said, “It will be good for us.” Shukla admitted it's a serious issue as the domestic matches are also affected. “We will need to review the scheduling of matches between 15 December and 15 January in North India to determine whether we need to shift them to South India or West India,” Shukla said.
What happened during IND vs SA Lucknow T20I?
After the toss at 6:30 PM was delayed, the first inspection took place at 6:50 PM, followed by five more inspections at 7:30 PM, 8 PM, 8:30 PM, 9 PM and 9:25 PM. The match was finally called off after the air quality worsened. During that time, the Air Quality Index (AQI) of Lucknow reached more than 400, which is 'hazardous' for human life.
Such was the quality of the air that India all-rounder Hardik Pandya was seen wearing a mask. The players of both sides held their warm-up sessions till 7:30 PM before returning to their dressing rooms.
Earlier, Tharoor had tweeted about the Lucknow fog during the fourth T20I, stating that Thiruvananthapuram should have hosted the game. "Cricket fans have been waiting in vain for the #INDVSSAODI to start in Lucknow. But thanks to dense smog, pervasive in most north Indian cities, and an AQI of 411, visibility is too poor to permit a game of cricket.
“They should’ve scheduled the game in Thiruvananthapuram, where AQI is about 68 right now!” Tharoor wrote. With India leading the series 2-1, the fifth and final T20I will be hosted by Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on 19 December. The match starts at 7 PM IST.
