West Indian players are wearing black armbands in the ongoing first ODI against India at the Kensington Oval. The same was first observed by one and all during the national anthems right before the start of what is the first ODI between these two teams at this venue in the last 21 years.
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Put into bat first by India captain Rohit Sharma, the home team lost three wickets in the first powerplay to not be able to register the best of starts in a format which has brought a lot of disrepute for them in the last month.
With the Indian new-ball bowlers sending the West Indian top-order back to the pavilion without the latter inflicting any damage, the onus is now on their captain Shai Hope and batter Shimron Hetmyer to build a solid partnership in a bid to diminish the chances of a one-sided contest in first of the two Barbados ODIs. For the unversed, Hetmyer is playing an ODI for the first time in the last two years.
Why Are West Indies Players Wearing Black Armbands In 1st Barbados ODI Today?
It is to be noted that West Indian cricketers are donning black armbands as a mark of respect and tribute towards former spinner Raphick Jumadeen. For the uninitiated, 75-year old Jumadeen passed away yesterday.
In addition to an official tweet by Windies Cricket, the same was also mentioned by one of the commentators right at the start of the match on Thursday.
The #MenInMaroon are wearing black arm bands today to acknowledge the passing of former Trinidad & Tobago & WI cricketer Raphick Jumadeen #WIvIND pic.twitter.com/LJexzyd549
— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) July 27, 2023
A left-arm spinner during his playing days, Jumadeen represented West Indies in 12 Tests between 1972-1979. Apart from his 29 Test wickets coming at an average of 39.34, he had also scored 84 runs including a half-century at the highest level. Raphick’s younger brother, Shamshuddin Jumadeen, had represented Trinidad & Tobago in 14 first-class and a couple of List A matches.
