‘Stop winter cricket in North India’: Rajeev Shukla sounds alarm after Lucknow T20I abandoned due to fog | Cricket News
NEW DELHI: The abandonment of the fourth T20I between India and South Africa without a ball being bowled has triggered serious soul-searching within the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), with vice-president Rajeev Shukla admitting that the board may have to take drastic measures regarding winter scheduling in north India.Go beyond borders with our YouTube channel. REGISTER NOW!The match at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium was officially called off on Wednesday due to “excessive fog”, but the reality was a thick layer of smog which significantly reduced visibility and raised concerns over player safety. This was only the second instance in the history of international cricket of a match being abandoned due to fog.
Speaking exclusively to Times Now, Shukla acknowledged the seriousness of the situation and hinted at a major policy overhaul. “The BCCI will have to rethink its winter schedule and stop matches in north India,” he said, adding that air pollution can no longer be treated as a routine inconvenience. “This is an emergency and should be treated as such.”The contest, which was scheduled to start at 7 p.m., was finally abandoned around 9:30 p.m. after six inspections, even though it had become clear much earlier that conditions would only deteriorate as the evening progressed. The players had cut their warm-up short at 7:30 p.m. and by 9:00 p.m., much of the crowd had begun to leave the stadium.
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Air quality index (AQI) levels in Lucknow were hovering above 400 – firmly in the ‘hazardous’ category – sparking visible concern. Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya was seen wearing a surgical mask while warming up, an image that quickly went viral and intensified scrutiny of the BCCI’s scheduling choices.Shukla himself entered the field during one of the inspections, and his disappointed body language after speaking with the match officials reflected the mood. With no reserve day available, both teams will now travel to Ahmedabad for the series finale on Friday, with India leading 2-1.The broader criticism centers on the tour’s choice of locations in South Africa, which took in cities including New Chandigarh, Dharamsala and Lucknow in November and December – a time known for fog, cold and severe pollution in northern India. Just last week, the Dharamsala T20I was played in temperatures below 10 degrees, with spinner Varun Chakravarthy admitting that the conditions were “quite difficult”.
