The Indian players are wearing black armbands during their ongoing match against England at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow today (October 29).

England won the toss at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium in Lucknow today (October 29) and elected to field first. As the Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill came out to bat, they were spotted wearing black armbands on their T-shirts.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the reason behind it on X (Twitter): the black armbands will be worn by the Indian team in today’s (October 29) game against England as a mark of respect for the legendary left-arm spinner Bishan Singh Bedi, who passed away on October 24.

#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

Having taken 266 wickets in 67 Test matches at an average of 28.71, Bedi was widely regarded as the finest exponent of left-arm orthodox spin bowling. He also had a larger than life persona off the field which he was famous for.

[caption id=”attachment_589702″ align=”alignnone” width=”1024″] India are wearing black armbands in memory of Bishan Singh Bedi[/caption]

The news of Bedi’s death broke during the World Cup game between Bangladesh and South Africa in Mumbai on October 24. Today’s match between India and England is India’s first game since his death, which is why they are using this as an opportunity to pay their respects to one of the finest cricketers of the country by wearing the black armbands.

England, meanwhile, have started the game well, taking the early wicket of Shubman Gill. Chris Woakes, who has not had a great time at the World Cup so far, went through Gill’s defences with a nip-backer, dismissing him for nine off 13 balls.