Due to pollution in the capital city, Bangladesh postponed their scheduled training session at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Friday, November 3, before of their match against Sri Lanka. The two subcontinent sides will square off on Monday, November 6, amid mounting worries over air pollution.
The situation in Delhi has deteriorated in recent days, with the air quality index rating falling into the’severe’ category.
After many players complained of coughing while out in the city on an off day on November 2, the Bangladesh team management opted to cancel the training session.
Shakib Al Hasan and company have been officially ruled out of the semifinals, but the remaining games are critical to their chances of qualifying for the 2025 Champions Trophy.
According to Bangladesh team director Khaled Mahmud (via Cricbuzz):
“Today, we had training session but the condition got bad from yesterday so we didn’t take the chance because we still have two more days for training. Many (cricketers) went out yesterday and now they are having some kind of coughing so there is a risk factor involved and so we cancelled the training so that they don’t get unwell.”
“We don’t know what will the decision be and whether the weather will get better or not and if it gets better certainly it is good for us and if that is not the case we still have to adapt to it and have to train tomorrow. Because we have a game on October 6th and still have two more days in our hand so we want the boys to be fully fit because these two games are very important for us.”
Khaled Mahmud
Bangladesh is presently tenth in the points table with two games remaining in the competition.
Only One Victory For Bangladesh In 2023 World Cup Campaign
Given the fact that the 2023 World Cup would be held on the subcontinent, Bangladesh has great expectations. However, it has been a tournament to forget, with just a win over Afghanistan in the first weekend providing relief.
Bangladesh team director Khaled Mahmud anticipates that the entire campaign would be analyzed following its conclusion, with head coach Chandika Hathurusingha’s future being a significant component. He stated:
“It is too early to say (whether Hathurusingha will be there or not). The World Cup is still ongoing and Hathu is still our head coach, so it won’t send the right message to the team.”
Khaled Mahmud
The squad is presently on a six-game losing streak and risks finishing last in the table and missing out on the Champions Trophy 2025. Their remaining matches are against Sri Lanka and Australia, both at Delhi and Pune.