Dhaka, Nov. 29 -- It was for all intents and purposes the first image to be circulated widely in the international media of the Bangladesh cricket team's disastrous tour of India that wrapped up rather tamely this past week: the Tigers were having their first practice session of the tour at the old Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium (very recently renamed after Arun Jaitley) in Delhi, where the first of three T20Is that preceded the Test series would be played on November 3rd, and images of a number of the players, most notably opening batsman Liton Das, wearing anti-pollution face masks to guard against the thick smog enveloping the Indian capital at the time quickly went viral.

It was the week after Diwali, which acts almost as an annual marker ...