Amid the severe air pollution in Delhi, which plummeted to hazardous level and led to a public health emergency, Bangladesh will start their India tour by taking on the hosts in the first of three-match T20 series on Sunday (Nov 3 ).
The match starts at 7.30pm Bangladesh time at Arun Jaitley Stadium.
The BCCI had previously made it clear that the match would go ahead as scheduled even though the air quality issue was brought up by environmentalists.
The game is indeed on despite schools have shut, constructions work stalled and athletic activities advised against due to pollution. But, the teams didn’t complain officially and prepared them for the battle.
The game is India’s first international fixture after the Diwali when the air pollution remains severe. However, when Bangladesh have no official complaint about the air quality issue, they seemed to be still recovering from the Shakib Al Hasan shock.
ICC has banned the ace allrounder for two years, with one year of that suspended after he accepted three charges of breaching the Anti-Corruption Code.
Shakib, who became the first player in World Cup history to claim the double of 600+ runs and 10+ wickets in a single competition this year, had been set to lead the side and just last week announced that the country’s players were calling off a strike after working with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to reach agreement on a number of contractual and structural issues.
Bangladesh will also miss the service of Tamim Iqbal and all-rounder Saifuddin, but their absence was not shocking. Tamim skipped the tour as he and his wife are expecting their second baby while Saifuddin’s absence was due to injuries.
Such was the magnitude of Shakib’s absence that Mushfiqur Rahim tried to console the whole team by requesting them to mull his absence as injury-related. However, even the air quality issue couldn’t sidestep Shakib’s issue.
“We are looking forward to the series because anything can happen in cricket. Shakib was injured before… But, we played in the Asia Cup, so it is okay,” Bangladesh batsman Liton Das said.
“We prepared well before coming here. We had a training camp back in Bangladesh and then we also had a couple of days to train here. So, it is a good opportunity to adapt. Shakib is the best player on our team and we are going to miss him definitely,” he added.
The three-match T20 series is indeed the both side’s reparations for 2020 October’s Men’s T20 World Cup.
Bangladesh is yet to learn the art of T20 cricket, which is clear from the stats. The Tigers played eight T20 Internationals against India and lost all of them.
But, they have something to cherish despite their poor T20 record. It will be just the second time the two sides have met on Indian soil in the short format, following India’s dramatic single run victory in Bangalore during the group stages of the 2016 World Twenty20.
Bangladesh was so close that time and they could expect to produce the same performance, especially when India is without some of its key players. Captain Virat Kohli was rested while Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya is not playing due to injury.
Bangladesh who shared Tri-series T20 trophy with Afghanistan last month at home den will take the field with a point to prove against a young Indian side led by Rohit Sharma.
India will be looking to bounce back after drawing 1-1 with South Africa in September’s three-match series.
India is currently fifth-ranked team in T20 cricket while Bangladesh three notches down at the ninth.