Why Mumbai players wore face masks during Ranji Trophy match at BKC

A few Mumbai's players were forced to put on face masks to protect themselves from pollution caused by construction on the first day of their Ranji Trophy tie against Delhi in Mumbai on Thursday.

India and Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan, his younger brother Musheer Khan and spinner Himanshu Singh were seen wearing face masks during the third session's play at the MCA-BKC Ground in suburban Mumbai.

The AQI (air quality index) on Thursday hovered around 160 with the conditions being "unhealthy", as the players fought it out on the field.

While pollution levels have remained high in the city, it is not common among players to wear face masks while playing.

'Players had issues with breathing'

But a building construction site right next to the MCA-BKC Ground clearly aggravated the situation on Thursday afternoon.

For about half-an-hour or so, the three Mumbai players wore face masks while fielding but got rid of them later on.

"There wasn't any banter (about it), but new (building) construction work is being carried out here and because of that the players were feeling the pollution and having issues with breathing, so they put those on," said Mumbai pacer Mohit Avasthi when asked about the players wearing masks.