The Board of Management for Cricket in India (BCCI) confronted criticism after the fourth T20I between India and South Africa in Lucknow was known as off because of poor visibility. BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla was seen conferring with officers on the sphere and expressed frustration that the scenario remained uncontrolled.
The cancellation sparked contemporary debate over the timing and placement of winter worldwide matches in northern India. Notably, it was the third recreation of the collection to be performed within the area, regardless of the dangers of smog and climate. The second and third T20Is have been held in New Chandigarh and Dharamshala respectively.
India vs South Africa match canceled because of Lucknow smog drive
The match began at 7 pm and the toss was scheduled for six.30 pm in Lucknow. Nevertheless, the worsening scenario compelled authorities to postpone the process.
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The umpire carried out the primary inspection roughly 20 minutes after the scheduled toss time. As visibility didn’t enhance, testing continued into the night. Practically six checks have been carried out earlier than the match was lastly known as off at 9:30 p.m.
Followers contained in the stadium and people watching from house have been pissed off. Social media was flooded with photographs and movies exhibiting smog blanketing the bottom and the air high quality index exceeding 400 in a single day.
Hardik Pandya wore a surgical masks through the first warm-up. After the second delay, the gamers stopped warming up and returned to the locker room. By round 9 p.m., many spectators had begun leaving the stadium amid lingering uncertainty in regards to the begin of play.
Rajeev Shukla seen wanting irritated throughout visibility examine in Lucknow
Throughout the visibility examine in Lucknow, Rajeev Shukla was seen strolling in the direction of the middle of the bottom the place the umpires have been inspecting the scenario. Whereas talking with officers, he appeared visibly pissed off as a call couldn’t be reached.
The gamers have been stunned by the troublesome circumstances. India spinner Varun Chakravarthy stated it was his first time enjoying in such a chilly venue and he discovered it troublesome to deal with the scenario.
“I had by no means performed on such a chilly floor earlier than, so I discovered it fairly difficult,” Chakravarthy stated.
The waiver has put BCCI underneath stress once more over its plans. Air high quality was already a priority from the start of the collection, with the match in New Chandigarh being performed in heavy air pollution and the match towards Dharamshala being held with air high quality rated as poor.
Match ought to have been scheduled in Thiruvananthapuram – Shashi Tharoor
The lengthy postponement and eventual cancellation of the match in Lucknow triggered a response from the cricket world. Congress chief and cricket fan Shashi Tharoor took to social media to specific his disappointment over the scenario.
Tharoor stated followers have been left ready at the hours of darkness because the scenario continued to deteriorate. He additionally questioned the choice to host worldwide matches in Lucknow underneath such circumstances. Tharoor added that the match might have been scheduled in Thiruvananthapuram.
“Cricket followers have been eagerly ready for #INDVSSAODI to begin in Lucknow, however because of the dense smog and AQI of 411 that prevails in most cities in North India, visibility is simply too poor to carry a cricket match. They need to have scheduled the match in Thiruvananthapuram. The AQI is at the moment round 68!,” he wrote on X.
Cricket followers waited in useless. #INDVSAODI Begin from Lucknow. However visibility is simply too poor to carry a cricket match because of the dense smog and AQI of 411 that pervades most cities in north India. They have been speculated to have scheduled a match in Thiruvananthapuram, the place…
— Shachi Tharoor (@ShachiTharoor) December 17, 2025
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