#SmogChalRahaHai: Haze and smog steal show from on-field action at Ind-NZ Test in Kanpur

When cricket fans switched on their TV sets to catch the opening session of the first India-New Zealand Test cricket match on Thursday morning, a few were confused as to why the picture quality was hazy. Even as many checked their TV sets and Wi-Fi connection, they soon realised the haze was not part of the telecast but present on the ground itself.The match is being played at Kanpur's Green Park Stadium and on both the mornings so far, the city and the ground was covered in a thick haze, partly due to the Indian winter and partly due to high air pollution levels in the city.

Jokes and memes on the haze galore
The low visibility on the ground and the hazy telecast became immediate fodder for memes and jokes on the Internet. The hashtag #SmogChalRahaHai was trending on Twitter through the first two days of the Test match with many social media users poking fun at the low visibility. "Dhuaan dhuaan tha wo samaa," quipped former Indian batsman Wasim Jaffer sharing a hazy screengrab of the game, while international cricket writer Rick Eyre joked that the broadcasters had forgotten to take the filters off the lenses of their cameras.


Debutant Shreyas Iyer was the star performer for India across the two days, scoring a century in his first Test for the national team. Many jokes referenced the batsman, with one Twitter user writing, "Kanpur's visibility level is very low. The only thing visible is Shreyas Iyer's talent." Test matches are usually played in India during the winters, with the morning sessions beginning at 9:30am. Naturally, in matches played in the northern part of the country, smog and haze are almost always present, something many pointed out on Twitter.

Fans raise concerns for players' welfare due to high pollution
But it wasn't all fun and games. Some fans also raised concerns about players' well-being. As per multiple sources, the AQI level of Kanpur on Thursday and Friday mornings was over 400, far above the acceptable level of 60. "There should be careful consideration when scheduling matches in areas where smog/haze can be quite heavy in winter. Player and spectator welfare is most important," tweeted one user.



Not the first such incident…
This isn't the first time an international cricket match in north India is in focus because of the air pollution in the host city. In December 2017, an India-Sri Lanka Test match in Delhi had become the centre of controversy after a number of Sri Lankan players became visibly ill on the ground, reportedly due to the high levels of air pollution. Similarly, an India-Bangladesh T20 international in Delhi in November 2019 had also faced opposition for the same reasons. Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir had said in 2019, "No match or sporting event is bigger than the people of Delhi. I do not think any match should happen here in Delhi until the pollution level comes under control."