Several Mumbai players were forced to wear face masks as they fielded during Thursday’s Ranji Trophy Group D clash against Delhi at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy at BKC in Mumbai after pollution levels around the ground rose due to nearby construction activity.
India and Mumbai batsman Sarfaraz Khan, his younger brother Musheer Khan and spinner Himanshu Singh were seen wearing masks during the third session at the MCA BKC Ground as dust from a construction site adjacent to the venue visibly misted the air. The air quality index that day was around 160, which puts it in the unhealthy category.
While pollution is a recurring problem in the city, it is rare for players to resort to wearing face masks during competitive cricket. However, continuous construction work next to the ground appeared to have worsened conditions on Thursday afternoon, prompting the precautionary move.
Three Mumbai players wore their masks for about half an hour while fielding before taking them off later as the game progressed.
“There was no joke in it,” Mumbai pacer Mohit Avasthi said. “But there’s new building work going on here and because of that the players could smell the pollution and have breathing problems so they put them on.”
MUMBAI RESTRICTS DELHI TO 221
Despite the challenging conditions, Mumbai produced a strong bowling effort to bundle out Delhi for 221 on the opening day. The only bright spot for the visitors was Sanat Sangwan who scored a decisive 118, his third century of the season, while the rest of the batting line-up faltered.
Avasthi bowled for the visitors and finished with figures of 5/62. After lunch, he decisively turned the game around and tore through the Delhi middle order with 6-0-17-3 in his third spell.
Sangwan combined patience with controlled aggression to anchor Delhi’s innings, facing 218 deliveries and hitting 11 fours and two sixes. He added 100 runs for the second wicket with Vaibhav Kandpal (32) to help Delhi recover from an early setback.
“It was a good season for me and I wanted to play long innings,” Sangwan said after the game. “The Delhi-Mumbai contest is always a close game, so I will call it one of my best hundreds.
Mumbai were 13 for 1 in reply at stumps, with Divij Mehra dismissed by Akash Anand for 4. The hosts were 208 runs ahead heading into day two.
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Issued by:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
January 29, 2026
