IND vs ENG, CWC 2023: Why Are Team India Players Wearing Black Armbands?

Team India cricketers were seen sporting black armbands during the high-voltage 2023 World Cup clash against England at Ekana Sports City in Lucknow on Sunday. With former left-arm spinner Bishan Singh Bedi passing away aged 77 on October 23rd (Monday) due to prolonged illness, the hosts have worn black armbands to show respect to the legend.

A pioneer of left-arm spin, Bedi enjoyed a promising career and had influence on many young cricketers. The late cricketer made his international debut in the closing stages of 1966, which was a Test against the West Indies at the Eden Gardens. He put up a decent performance, taking a couple of wickets but the tourists won by an innings and 45 runs.

Bedi went on to feature in 67 Tests in the next 13 years and took 266 wickets at 28.71 apiece with 14 five-wicket hauls. The wily spinner played only 10 ODIs after making his first appearance in 1974 and picked up 7 scalps.

England send India into bat after winning the toss:

As for Sunday's action-packed 2023 World Cup match, India will bat first as England captain Jos Buttler sent them into bat. The Men in Blue have gone with the same XI that beat New Zealand by 4 wickets in Dharamsala. Another victory for the hosts should put their one foot in the semi-final.

Meanwhile, England are languishing at the bottom of the table and are coming off 4 successive losses. With their hopes of reaching the semi-final almost finished, Buttler's men could hurt the potential contenders' chances too.

Both India and defending champions England are unchanged for this game.

Squads

India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

England Playing XI: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler(w/c), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood