After India-South Africa T20I in Lucknow got abandoned, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor tweeted, "Fans have been waiting in vain for [match] to start...but thanks to dense smog, pervasive in most north Indian cities, and AQI of 411, visibility is too poor to permit...game of cricket." He added, "They should’ve scheduled [it] in Thiruvananthapuram...where AQI is about 68 right now."