By Hanika Kashyap
Lok Sabha Member and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor took a jibe at the BCCI on Wednesday, December 17, for choosing to organize the much-awaited India versus South Africa fourth T20I in Lucknow.
The comments came after the match was called off as the toss kept getting delayed due to excessive fog that covered the ground. The Indian politician, 69, suggested that the game should’ve been held in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala instead. Interestingly, the south Indian state is also Tharoor’s Parliamentary constituency, which he claims has better air quality and visibility.
Taking his concerns to X, formerly Twitter, Tharoor expressed the frustration of cricket fans. He slammed north Indian cities, with an AQI of 441 and their crooked visibility for failing to permit a game of cricket. Concluding the post, he stated that the game should’ve been played in Thiruvananthapuram, where AQI is 68. The post was uploaded not too long before the match was abandoned.
The IND-SA match at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium was called off because of several delays due to the obvious smog. Player safety was given priority, leading to the decision to call off the game. At the moment, the toss has been postponed.
The abandonment of the game has sparked massive online outrage by fans, Many questioning the idea behind choosing a venue in the northern states during peak winter. Fans also expressed their disappointment at the BCCI, as the environmental conditions were foreseeable, as the current weather-related disruptions are common to the region at this time of the year.
Looking at the fog situation, commentator and former Indian batsman Robin Uthappa expressed his frustration. He even wondered whether the fog would clear as the evening progressed.