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BCCI moves Under-23 State A Trophy knockouts from Delhi to Mumbai because of severe air pollution.
A protester shows the present AQI or Air Quality Index during a protest against what they called the government’s lack of action to combat air pollution in the capital city New Delhi (Picture credit: AP)
The Board of Control for Cricket in India has shifted the knockouts of the men’s Under-23 State A Trophy Elite tournament from Delhi to Mumbai, in light of the severe air pollution that the state is grappling with at the moment, according to a report in The Indian Express.
The BCCI has requested the Mumbai Cricket Association to get ready to host the games scheduled from November 25 to December 1.
The likes of Baroda, Uttarakhand, Bengal and Chandigarh will play the last group-stage games of the tournament starting Friday across Ranchi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Vadodara.
“We got a call from the BCCI today, informing us that the MCA has been allotted the under-23 one-day knockouts due to high air pollution in the capital. Cricket can’t be played in those conditions,” a source in the Mumbai Cricket Association told The Indian Express.
Delhi’s air quality has hit hazardous levels, a recurring problem this time of year. On Thursday, the Air Quality Index reached 400, placing it in the ‘severe’ category, as per the Central Pollution Control Board.
Last Tuesday, Delhi’s AQI entered the ‘severe’ category after crossing the 400-mark, a level that can affect even healthy individuals.
As per forecasts from the Ministry of Earth Sciences’ Air Quality Early Warning System, Delhi’s air quality could worsen further, staying in the ‘very poor’ to ‘severe’ range over the next six days.
The quarterfinal between A1 and C2, presumably between Bengal and Saurashtra, as per the current standings, was scheduled to be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, but thanks to the pollution, the match will now reportedly be moved.
Earlier, the BCCI shifted the first Test against South Africa, all set to start on November 14 in Delhi, to Kolkata after criticism over hosting a game during the peak pollution season.
Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium was instead scheduled to host the second Test against the Windies from October 10.
During the 2017 Delhi Test against Sri Lanka in early December, the average AQI was 316, categorised as ‘very poor’. By Day 3, it spiked to 390, forcing multiple cricketers to take the field wearing masks.
November 20, 2025, 23:17 IST
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