Top-order Bangladesh batsman Soumya Sarkar and one other player vomited during the first Twenty20 International in New Delhi, ESPNCricinfo reported.
Bangladesh went on to defeat India in T20Is for the first time after Mushfiqur Rahim took his team over the line in the final over on Sunday.
There was plenty of talk about the game being moved out of Delhi as air quality levels worsened in the Capital after Diwali due to crop-stubble burning in neighbouring states and smoke from fireworks.
The air quality had plummeted to alarming levels on Sunday morning. Schools in Delhi and Noida were closed until Tuesday and airport operations were also affected by the heavy smog.
Read: Cricket in the times of pollution in Delhi: Why are those governing the game so reckless?
“Personally, this air pollution is nothing for me,” Mushfiqur said after the match. “I was much more interested in which bowler I was facing. Playing against India in front of a big crowd isn’t something Bangladesh team gets every day. I think we have come to play our biggest bilateral series, so these things don’t matter.”
Board of Control for Cricket in India President Sourav Ganguly had stated that he would take more care in scheduling matches in North India during winter, since the former India captain had become BCCI chief barely 10 days before the match.
“In future, when we schedule, especially in the northern part of India during the winter, we will have to be a little bit more practical,” Ganguly had said. “I know post-Diwali it’s a bit tough in the north. I hope everything goes fine.”
Corrections and clarifications: This report was originally published with the headline “Two Bangladesh players vomited while batting in Delhi T20I due to pollution”.
