Fans Fume After Poor AQI in Lucknow Forces 4th T20I Between India-South Africa to Get Cancelled; BCCI to be Blamed?

Ind vs SA: After multiple inspections by the umpires, it was finally decided at 9:30 PM on Wednesday that the 4th T20I between India-South Africa will be called off without a single ball being bowled. The umpires - one has to admit - were hopeful. The fans, who had turned up in large numbers, were left disappointed. Now, who takes the blame for it? Should the Board of Control of Cricket in India have been better prepared? Will the fans get a refund on the tickets? 

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Could BCCI Have Avoided it? 

While the BCCI contemplates their next action, one thing is for sure - the Indian board could have avoided it. It is no secret that during the winters, it gets really cold in the Northern part of the country and the presence of fog and excessive dew is a given. Visibility is bound to be a problem at this time of the year, and hence the question is - could the BCCI have hosted the T20Is at venues where such problems won't prevail? After the final call was taken that the match has been called off, fans fumed as they left the stadium and that was not a pretty visual at all for any cricket fan. 

It is no secret that the Indian board follows a rotational policy when allotting venues and hence one reckons the board would have contemplated swapping venues with the white-ball series against New Zealand, scheduled to begin on January 11.

Fans Fume

Some fans also admitted having travelled for more than 500 kms just to watch the game. 

On the day of the match, Lucknow's official Air Quality Index (AQI) was 174, which falls into the "moderate" category according to the Indian National Air Quality Index (NAQI) framework. The problem was fog as that played spoilsport.