IND vs ENG: Why India are wearing black armbands on day 3 of third test?

Indian players were spotted wearing black armbands during third IND vs ENG test in Rajkot.

Indian cricketers were seen wearing black armbands during day three of the ongoing third test match against England at the Niranjan Shah Stadium, Rajkot.

Usually cricketers wear black armbands on field to show solidarity towards any cause or in memory of former cricketers or officials who have passed away.

Winning the toss and electing to bat first, India scored 445 in the first innings of the Rajkot test courtesy hundreds from captain Rohit Sharma and local boy Ravindra Jadeja. Rohit and Jadeja stitched together a partnership of over 200 runs for the fifth wicket when India were down to 33/3 in the first innings.

Making their debuts, Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel, both impressed with the bat and added valuable 62 and 46 runs respectively.

After bowling out India for 445 in the first innings, England started off their innings in ‘Bazball’ style and finished day two at 207/2 in 35 overs with Ben Duckett smashing a hundred (133*). Duckett reached his hundred in just 88 balls, which is the fastest by an England batter against India in tests.

Why Indian cricketers are wearing black armbands on Day 3?

Right after day two’s play, Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin, who completed 500 wickets on the day, pulled out of the ongoing test match in Rajkot to be with his family due to a family emergency. However, this is not the reason why Indian cricketers have been seen wearing black armbands on day three of the ongoing match.

On Tuesday, February 13th, former Indian test cricketer and the then oldest living Indian test cricketer, Dattajirao Gaekwad passed away aged 95. Indian cricketers are wearing black armbands in memory of the former Indian cricketer Dattajirao Gaekwad.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed the same in a release on Saturday. The BCCI stated, “#TeamIndia will be wearing black arm bands in memory of Dattajirao Gaekwad, former India captain and India’s oldest Test cricketer who passed away recently.”

Dattajirao Gaekwad represented India in 11 tests from 1952 to 1961. He scored 350 runs for India in 20 test innings.

Talking about the match, at the time of writing, England are 223/2 after 39 overs and are trailing by 222 runs. India without their most experienced spinner Ravi Ashwin, might find it difficult to fight back in the ongoing match in Rajkot.

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