'Masala chahiye, lekin dunga nai' - Rohit Sharma to a journalist when asked about Delhi pollution

Rohit Sharma will be standing in as Indian captain in the upcoming T20I series against Bangladesh with the first match scheduled to be played in Delhi at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. The Mumbaikar is known for his terrific sense of humor and often has fun with journalists during press conferences. With a major issue hanging over the India-Bangladesh match in Delhi, Rohit seemed to be at his witty best.

Delhi is currently facing a major problem of pollution with its air quality being deemed severe. This means the environment department cautioning the residents to avoid any physical exercise in the open air. Therefore, there were petitions from many corners for the BCCI to move the game from Delhi to other venues, but the board remained stubborn and despite the Bangladesh players practicing with masks, the match will be played at the same ground on November 3.

Rohit refuses to provide fodder to journalist after a loaded question

Ahead of the game, Delhi’s weather has been the talk of the town and understandably so. The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) crossed the 400-mark on Wednesday this week, raising concerns among residents of the city. An AQI between 0-50 is considered “good”, 51-100 “satisfactory”, 101-200 “moderate”, 201-300 “poor”, 301-400 “very poor”, and 401-500 “severe”.

Given that the AQI was nearing 500, concerns grew about players’ health and safety if they play the game in Delhi, given that same thing happened in 2017, when Sri Lankan players wore a mask during a Test match that was scheduled here. During a press conference, a journalist used this as an example and asked the Indian skipper about the Delhi weather and what was his take on the same.

Rohit, knowing that it was a loaded question, came with an extremely witty answer and said, “Masala chahiye, lekin dunga nai (you want something spice but I won’t give anything)”.

Here is the video of Rohit Sharma saying the same

Meanwhile, as the board rested Virat Kohli in order to manage his workload, Rohit will lead India in the 3-match T20I series and is hoped to continue Men in Blue’s dominance in the format over the Tigers. India has won all the 8 matches played between the two teams so far in the format and the same is expected to continue. Bangladesh, on the other hand, is without two of their most experienced players in Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan on this tour.