Why Are Indian And Australian Cricketers Wearing Black Armbands Today At The Oval?

Both Indian and Australian cricketers are wearing black armbands on the first day of the final match of the second edition of the ICC World Test Championship at The Oval today. In addition to all the cricketers, match officials Chris Gaffaney and Richard Illingworth have also been spotted with armbands.

India, who are bowling first at the behest of captain Rohit Sharma who called right at the toss, have already drawn first blood on the back of sending Australia opening batter Usman Khawaja (0) back to the dressing room.

It all happened on the fourth delivery of the fourth over when Khawaja edged a Mohammed Siraj delivery behind the wickets to wicket-keeper Srikar Bharat. Yet to get off the mark, the left-handed batter faced 10 deliveries before getting out.

Why Are Indian And Australian Cricketers Wearing Black Armbands Today?

Speaking of the armbands, the same has been done as a mark of respect towards the hundreds of people who lost their lives in a tragic train accident in the Indian state of Odisha last weekend.

Death toll in the unfortunate mishap was last reported to be 288 with thousands of people suffering injuries as a total of three trains collided with each other to register one of the biggest train accidents in the country.

It was right before the national anthems that both the Indian and Australian squads observed silence in memory of the deceased. With Indian spectators present at The Oval in a humongous number, numerous sombre faces were there to be seen in the stands.

Why Do Players Wear Black Armbands In Cricket?

It is to be noted that black armbands are not only worn in cricket but other sports or spheres of life as well. The gesture is mostly done to express solidarity in dire situations.