IND vs SA 4th T20I: The BCCI was quick to acknowledge the anger of the fans as the 4th T20I against South Africa in Lucknow got abandoned owing to excessive smog, as vice-president Rajiv Shukla revealed that they will keep the weather factor in mind before scheduling matches in the future. The match in Ekana Stadium, where even the toss wasn't held, led to the BCCI getting slammed for their scheduling for keeping international matches in North India in winter. In an interview with India Today, Shukla talked about how disappointing it was to call off the match.
“The Lucknow T20I was cancelled, and everyone is disappointed about it. All preparations were in place, everything was ready, and inspections were carried out right till the last moment. After that, the match was called off due to fog,” Rajiv Shukla was quoted as saying to India Today.
The match in Lucnow was supposed to start at 7 p.m., but owing to poor visibility, the toss was delayed, and this resulted in six inspections, and then the match was abandoned by 9:30 pm. The AQI was also in the hazardous zone, and that left both the fans and the players suffering. Shukla revealed that holding matches in north India between mid-December and mid-January is quite challenging, and this will be kept in mind for future matches.
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“Fog is a very big problem from December 15 to January 15. So I feel that while rescheduling in the future, this aspect will also have to be kept in mind,” he said.
Since the Lucknow T20I was all about inspections, Rajiv Shukla too entered the field where the umpires were seen conducting a visibility test. Shukla looked worried as he was seen talking to match officials, and that showed how serious the situation was as the officials conducted six inspections and then called off the match at 9.30.
Shukla also emphasised that pollution isn't just limited to one city and that the whole of NCR has poor AQI. He said that owing to smog, there are real on-field issues, especially for those who are trying to take that catch.
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Fans too took to their social media and slammed BCCI for not having alternative venues or for not changing the time. A lot of fans, who have travelled in this weather, were left disappointed when the match was abandoned.