Fans Want Indian Players To Wear Black Armbands In Asia Cup 2023 Final To Pay Tribute To Anantnag Martyrs

With the encounter in the Anantnag district of Jammu & Kashmir killing Colonel Manpreet Singh, Major Ashish Dhonchak, and DSP Humayun Bhat of J&K police losing their lives during a gunfight, Indian cricket fans have demanded the national team wears black armbands. Social media users have also called for India to boycott matches with Pakistan in the near future.

The initial skirmish saw three officers suffering grave injuries and later died at the military hospital in Batwara, Srinagar, where they were being treated. The rest of the injured men had been airlifted to the Army's 92-Base Hospital in Srinagar. It's worth noting that Col Singh had served 17 years in the Army and was on the verge of completing his tenure with Rashtriya Rifles in just 4 months. Dhonchak is a Sena Medal recipient in 2023. DSP Bhatt balonging to J&K police's special operation group got married last year and has a three-year-old son.

India to play in the 2023 Asia Cup final:

Team India, meanwhile, will play in the 2023 Asia Cup final, having qualified for the same by beating Sri Lanka on Tuesday by 41 runs. However, the most memorable win of the competition came against Pakistan in Colombo as they inflicted a 228-run loss on their arch-rivals.

Batting first, the Men in Blue amassed 356-2 on the back of tons from Virat Kohli and KL Rahul. In response, Pakistan had no answers to India's bowling unit and collapsed to 128 in 32 overs.

Here's how the fans have reacted to the latest skirmish in Anantnag: