It's not often that cricketers get to speak about or voluntarily voice their opinion about stuff beyond cricket and especially about social issues but when they do, it means and shows that they deeply care about that subject. Whether it was Rassie van der Dussen about a couple of days ago or now the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, both talked about something they felt genuinely about - unity in diversity in the Proteas squad and deteriorating quality of air in Mumbai, his hometown.
Rohit was taken aback by the poor air quality of Mumbai as soon as he landed in the city ahead of his side's ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 game against Sri Lanka. “Mumbai, yeh kya hogaya (Mumbai, what has happened?)," Rohit had asked while sharing a picture from his flight. And when the question was raised in front of him on the eve of the game, he did not hold back. Rohit most importantly shared his concerns regarding future generations and that he is worried for them, including his kid.
"In an ideal world, you do not want a situation like this but I am pretty sure that the concerned people are taking the necessary steps to avoid this kind of situation," Rohit said in the pre-match press conference ahead of the match against Sri Lanka at Wankhede Stadium.
"It is not ideal and everyone knows that. Looking at our future generations, your kids, my kid. Obviously, it is important that they get to live without any fear. Every time I get to speak outside of cricket, or not discussing cricket, I always talk about this. We have to look after our future generations," he added.
The AQI in most Indian cities has taken hit in the last couple of weeks. As winter sets in the northern part of India, the AQI generally goes up but surprisingly in Mumbai too it has been affected. Although it was better on Wednesday, November 1 at 167 and will be similar on the match day as well but in October it hit 300 on some days. Even Joe Root had complained regarding the same after his side's match against South Africa on October 21.
