World Cup, Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh: Focus on medical teams in Sri Lanka-Bangladesh tie

Both camps concerned about poor air quality, rely on ICC and doctors to guide them

NEW DELHI: The scenes at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday weren't ideal for a World Cup match eve. Players from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka turned up for practice wearing masks. The match between these two Asian countries holds very little significance to the outcome of the tournament. But, with a place in the Champions Trophy in 2025 yet to be finalized, these teams are still looking to go hard at each other.

Instead, they have to take the cautious route if and when the match gets underway on Monday, thanks to the severe air pollution in the Capital. While the cricket authorities know that it's not the best time of the year to hold games in Delhi, it's not always possible. The last two international matches at this venue which were affected by pollution had Sri Lanka playing Test in the first week of December in 2017 and Bangladesh played a T20I on November 3 in 2019.

When both the teams were done with their matches, gasping and vomiting, they would have hoped they never had to play in these conditions again. But, here we are in the first week of November, after all the mess around the schedule of this World Cup, with these two teams playing a match significant to them.

Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha revealed that a few players had to skip practice since they were asthmatic. "Our doctor has kept a close eye on players. We train what we have to train, and they go back into the dressing room. They don't spend time in the middle unless they're bowling or batting," he said while insisting "the team selection will not depend on the air quality. It depends on the condition and the opposition and our strength."

A concerned Sri Lankan management even reached out to ICC to get some clarity on the status of the match. "We just asked them (ICC) what's the plan. So, they said they will actually have a discussion, and then they'll come back. And I think they have installed some equipment here, and they've got specialists to check things out. So, they are planning to go ahead with the game. So, we will do exactly what the ICC tells us to do," Sri Lanka team manager Mahinda Halangoda said.


"We are constantly in touch with our medical team panel back in Sri Lanka. Actually, the professor who is in charge is already in India. We are in touch with him, the team doctor. And definitely we will be looking at the air quality index, but we will be guided by the ICC and I think they have a medical panel here so they will be giving us instructions. When we came, we were told to wear masks," he added.

On Monday, with very little motivation with respect to the World Cup, these two teams will have to find enough courage to turn up and fight the opposition, and the smog that has engulfed the city.