IND vs ENG: Why Indian Players Are Wearing Black Arm Bands In World Cup Match?

India play England in Lucknow to maintain winning run in the tournament. They have won all five out of five matches. India will hope to win this match and dedicate it to the late Bishan Singh Bedi.

Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. (Image: AP)

The Indian team lost the toss to England in Match 29 of Cricket World Cup 2023 in Lucknow and were invited to bat first. What followed was the national anthems of both the teams. The Indian and England players came out to stand for the national anthems. The Indians were wearing black arm bands on their sleevers of the blue shirts. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) revealed the reason with a post on X. 

Telling the fans why Team India was wearing the black arm bands, BCCI said that it was a gesture towards passing away of Indian cricket legend Bishan Singh Bedi. "#TeamIndia will be wearing Black Armbands in memory of the legendary Bishan Singh Bedi before the start of play against England in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023," the post read.

#TeamIndia will be wearing Black Armbands in memory of the legendary Bishan Singh Bedi before the start of play against England in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023.#CWC23 | #MenInBlue | #INDvENG — BCCI (@BCCI) October 29, 2023

Bedi passed away on October 23 in Delhi due to age-related illness. He played 67 Tests for India, captaining in 22 of them, finishing with a total of 266 wickets. His bowling action was described as 'poetry in motion'. The left-arm orthodox bowler was known for his outspokeness too.

In their last match Australian cricketers too wore black arm bands as an act of respect and support for Australian cricketer Fawad Ahmed and his family. Fawad had lost his four-month-old baby boy recently.    

Coming to the match, India will hoping for their sixth straight win in the World Cup. England, on the other hand, are going through a rough patch on the cricket field, having lost four out of five matches they have been part of. The defending champions have surprised themselves and the world with the poor cricket they have played this far in the tournament.

In the World Cups, England have a slight edge over India. These two teams have met each other 8 times in the tournament, with England winning four matches and India three. One match ended in a tie. That tie match was in Bengaluru in 2011.

Buttler's men, in 2023, face a stern challenge vs Rohit and Co. They look to turn their tournament around, starting with a win today vs the hosts. All eyes will be on Virat Kohli as well who is just one century short of equalling the great Sachin Tendulkar. Kohli is on 48. Tendulkar has 49.