Revealed: Why Sri Lankan players are wearing black arm-bands in IND vs SL match in Mumbai

Sri Lankan team have come on to the field against India in Mumbai wearing black arm-bands.

Indian team are playing against Sri Lanka in their 7th league encounter at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Both teams will be revisiting the memories of the finals they played at this venue in the 2011 World Cup, where team India came out as champions. Sri Lankan team entered the field wearing black armbands to pay tribute to one of their biggest supporters and fans, the late Percy Abbeysekera.

Just a few days ago, one of the most ardent fans of Sri Lankan cricket, Percy Abeysekera, passed away in Colombo after a prolonged illness. Also known as ‘Uncle Percy,’ Abeysekera was 87 years old when he took his last breath in Sri Lankan capital, Colombo. Uncle Percy’s love and affair with Sri Lankan cricket has been an inspiring tale for cricket fans. Percy was Sri Lanka’s ardent supporter and began to visit every game of Sri Lankan team from the 1979 Cricket World Cup in England.

Percy’s legacy is unmatched

Percy Abeysekera was not only popular with Sri Lankan players but also in other countries. He shared a close relationship with the likes of Arjun Ranatunga, Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara, as well as with former Indian captain MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and current Indian captain Rohit Sharma. Indian captain Rohit Sharma also paid tribute to him via social media when news of his passing away came two days ago.

Uncle Percy’s legacy will be unmatched forever in Sri Lankan cricket. He started when Sri Lanka started as an associated nation and also witnessed Sri Lankan cricket’s glorious years in the late 1990s and 2010s. Sri Lanka cricket team decided to pay a fitting tribute to one of the biggest fans they had in their backyard. Percy was always there to cheer for their players in every victory and motivate them in every loss.

This game has also been marked as a UNICEF initiative of ‘One Day 4 Children’, and both teams and umpires are wearing UNICEF armbands as well. Sri Lanka skipper Kusal Mendis won the toss and invited India to bat first. Sri Lanka got an early wicket as Indian captain Rohit Sharma went back to the pavilion for just 4 runs. Dilshan Madushanka dismissed him on the second ball of the innings with an in-swinger.

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