Why Indian players wearing black armbands in WTC Final 2021 vs New Zealand in Southampton?

Dixit Bhargav | 19/06/2021
Why Indian players wearing black armbands in WTC Final 2021 vs New Zealand in Southampton?

Indian players wearing black armbands: The Indian cricketers are seen wearing black armbands at the Ageas Bowl today.

During the final match of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship between India and New Zealand in Southampton, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has won the toss and chose to field under overcast conditions.

Much like Williamson, India captain Virat Kohli also wanted to field first to make the most of the prevailing weather conditions at the Ageas Bowl.

Talking about the Playing XIs for both the teams, New Zealand have included as many as five pace-bowling options in Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Kyle Jamieson, Neil Wagner and Colin de Grandhomme.

India, on the other hand, have refrained themselves from making any changes to the Playing XI which they had announced on the eve of the match despite there being a logical reason for playing a four fast bowling options.

Why Indian players wearing black armbands in WTC Final 2021 vs New Zealand?

Indian cricketers, who are playing their first-ever neutral Test match, are clearly seen wearing black armbands today. It is worth mentioning that the black armbands have been worn as a mark of respect for former India track and field sprinter Milkha Singh who passed away due to post-COVID complications last night.

Fondly known as Flying Sikh, Singh had lost his wife and former India volleyball captain Nirmal Kaur due to the similar post-COVID complications last week.

Singh, 91, has left behind three daughters and a son (illustrious golfer Jeev Milkha Singh). Initially hospitalized in Fortis Hospital (Mohali), Singh was subsequently shifted to PGIMER (Chandigarh) where he breathed his last.

Starring Farhan Akhtar in a titular role, a biopic on Singh titled ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ was directed by Rakesh Omprakash Mehra in 2013.

Post Edited By: Dixit Bhargav
ICC World Test Championship India Milkha Singh New Zealand

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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