Why Mumbai players were forced to wear face masks during Ranji Trophy game against Delhi?

Mumbai team's players were spotted wearing masks during the Ranji Trophy game against Delhi on Thursday. Given the fact that the AQI (air quality index) of the city has not generated headlines like that of Delhi, fans on social media began to wonder why the players were wearing masks. Why did Mumbai players wear face masks during the match against Delhi in the Ranji Trophy match?As it turned out, the players were forced to put on face masks to protect themselves from pollution caused by construction work that was going on around.India and Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan and his younger brother Musheer Khan were seen wearing face masks during the third session of the play at the MCA-BKC Ground. The AQI 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.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 in breathing, so they put those on,” said Mumbai pacer Mohit Avasthi when asked about the players wearing masks.Sangwan's century could not take Delhi to a promising totalDelhi opener Sumit Sangwan scored a brilliant century on day 1 of the contest against Mumbai. Sangwan registered 118 off 218 balls. Despite a brilliant knock by Sangwan, Delhi could only manage to post 221 on the board. Courtesy of a five-wicket haul by Mohit Awasthi and a couple each by Shams Mulani and Tushar Deshpande, Delhi got bundled out inside 77 overs. Mumbai, in reply, have also lost a wicket early. Before the end of the day, Divij Mehra dismissed opener Akash Anand. Mumbai were 13/1 after 3 overs at stumps. Akhil Harwadkar and nightwatchman Deshpande will begin the proceedings for Mumbai on Day 2 of this ever-anticipated clash.With the likes of Srfaraz Khan, Siddhesh Lad, Shams Mulani, and Musheer Khan in the squad, Mumbai's batting lineup runs deep, and they will look to get past the total posted by Delhi on Friday.With inputs from PTI