The fourth T20I between India and South Africa was called off on Wednesday due to poor visibility after a dense layer of smog engulfed the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow, raising serious questions about the BCCI's scheduling of matches in northern India during the peak winter months.
The venues allotted for the full series against the Proteas included New Chandigarh, Dharamsala, Lucknow, Ranchi, Raipur, Visakhapatnam, Cuttack, Ahmedabad, Guwahati and Kolkata during November and December.
This period is usually marked by high pollution levels in host cities like Lucknow, New Chandigarh and Dharamsala.
The fourth T20I was officially abandoned without a ball being bowled due to "excessive fog", but a thick blanket of smog enveloped the stadium, severely hampering visibility.
The Air Quality Index remained in the severe range, above 400 in Lucknow on Wednesday, raising concerns about the BCCI's commitment to players' welfare.
Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya was seen wearing a surgical mask to counter the pollution while the Indian team warmed up ahead of the game.
The match, scheduled to start at 7 pm, was eventually called off at 9:30 pm after the sixth inspection, although it was widely expected as visibility was only going to worsen.
The players had abandoned their warm-up session by 7:30 pm and returned to the confines of their dressing rooms. By 9 pm, the sizeable crowd that had braved the cold conditions began to thin out.
BCCI vice-president and lifelong Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association's spiritual boss Rajeev Shukla walked out to the middle during one of the inspections, but his body language after speaking to match officials indicated disappointment.
With no reserve day in place, both teams will now fly to Ahmedabad for the final T20I on Friday, with India leading the series 2–1.
While the BCCI follows a rotational policy when allotting venues, the board could have considered swapping venues with the white-ball series against New Zealand, scheduled to begin January 11.
The Men in Blue are set to face New Zealand at venues across western and southern India, including Vadodara, Rajkot, Indore, Nagpur, Raipur, Visakhapatnam and Thiruvananthapuram, with just one match scheduled in the northeastern city of Guwahati.
Matches held at most north zone venues have historically been affected by weather conditions during the winter months.
Last week, the third T20I was played in sub-10-degree temperatures in Dharamsala, set in the lap of the snow-clad Dhauladhar range.
Post the game, India's mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who hails from Tamil Nadu, admitted that the conditions were particularly challenging for him.
"I've never played at a ground this cold, so I did find it quite challenging,” he said.
The AQI on match day in Dharamsala was in the poor category and in the severe zone during the second T20I in New Chandigarh.
The planning of the BCCI operations team appeared questionable if historical weather data of north-Indian cities had not been collected or if there was no plan B to start matches in the afternoon, which could have at least ensured a game for the ticket-paying public.
