Mumbai’s first-class cricketers spent part of Thursday afternoon fielding in face masks, an unusual but necessary response to dusty conditions at the Bandra-Kurla Complex during their Ranji Trophy match against Delhi.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) in the city hovered around 160 – classed as “unhealthy” – yet it was the building work immediately beyond the boundary that tipped several players into action. A constant swirl of construction dust drifted across the ground during the third session, prompting batter Sarfaraz Khan, his younger brother Musheer and left-arm spinner Himanshu Singh to cover their noses and mouths for roughly half an hour.
“There wasn’t any banter [about it], but new construction work is being carried out here and because of that the players were feeling the pollution and having issues in breathing, so they put those on,” Mumbai seamer Mohit Avasthi explained afterwards.
Pollution masks are common on city streets but remain a rare sight in domestic cricket. Coaches kept a close eye on the situation; play continued without interruption, and the trio discarded the masks once the breeze eased. Even so, the episode highlighted a growing off-field concern for winter cricket in metropolitan centres, where AQI readings can fluctuate sharply during the afternoon.
Mumbai’s bowlers still managed to keep Delhi in check on a slow surface, although both teams acknowledged that visibility and air quality, rather than swing or spin, were the main variables during an otherwise routine first day.
