India's cricket captain, Rohit Sharma, raised concerns about Mumbai's weather in his recent Instagram story. The Indian cricket team had arrived in the city for their upcoming ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 match against Sri Lanka. Rohit posted an aerial photograph of Mumbai taken from his flight, showing the city covered in thick smog, and captioned it with a mask-wearing emoji, saying, "Mumbai, yeh kya ho gaya (Mumbai, what's happened)?"


Over the past couple of weeks, Mumbai's weather has been a cause for worry. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) reported that Mumbai's Air Quality Index (AQI) on Tuesday morning was at 161, falling into the 'moderate' category. The worst air quality was recorded at Bandra Kurla Complex, with an AQI of 257, followed by Sion at 218, Kherwadi in Bandra East at 198, and Navy Nagar in Colaba at 189.


The AQI on Monday was no better, standing at 143 in the morning, and it was at 152 on Sunday. AQI levels in the range of 0-50 are considered good, 51-100 is satisfactory, 101-200 is moderate, 201-300 is poor, and 301-400 is very poor. AQI above 400 is considered as severe.


The current weather conditions in Mumbai are particularly concerning because Rohit, who has played the majority of his cricket in the city, is expressing surprise about the conditions. 


Coming to the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, India remain undefeated in the tournament, having won all six of their matches. Rohit himself has been a key contributor, being India's top run-scorer with 398 runs in six matches, including a century and two half-centuries. His 87-run innings in the last match against England on a challenging Lucknow pitch was a highlight of the tournament.


India, with 12 points, are most likely to become the first team to qualify for the semi-finals if they defeat Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium. With Hardik Pandya still unfit to play, India are unlikely to make any changes to their playing XI. Bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, and Ravindra Jadeja have played crucial roles in India's unbeaten streak in the tournament.


Meanwhile, Sri Lanka, who recently received a heavy defeat at the hands of clinical Afghanistan, will find it tough against the on-a-roll Indian side.