IND vs ENG, World Cup 2023: Why is Indian team wearing black armbands in Lucknow?

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The Indian cricket team players were seen wearing black armbands during their latest ICC World Cup 2023 match, India vs England, at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Sunday (October 29).

The Indian cricket team, who were asked to bat first by England, wore black armbands in memory of the legendary spinner and former captain Bishan Singh Bedi, who died on October 23 after prolonged health concerns.

"Team India will be wearing Black Armbands today in memory of the legendary Bishan Singh Bedi who passed away on 23rd October, 2023," the BCCI said in a statement shortly after the commencement of the World Cup contest here.

Bishan Singh Bedi is survived by his wife Anju, daughter Neha and son Angad, Gavas Inder Singh and daughter Gillinder from his earlier marriage to Glenith Miles. The former cricketer was not keeping well for a period of two years or so, and had also undergone multiple surgeries including one on his knee.

Bishan Singh Bedi, who died last Monday following a prolonged period of illness at the age of 77, led India for two years between 1976-1978 in 22 Tests and represented the country in an overall 67 Tests and 10 ODIs from 1967-1979. He also captained India in four one-day internationals in the same time period.

At the time of his retirement, Bedi was India's highest wicket-taker with 266 dismissals in Tests at 28.71. Bedi was a part of India's cerebral spin quarter featuring Bhagwath Chandrasekhar, Erapalli Prasanna and Srinivas Venkataraghavan.

Meanwhile, India were off to a poor start against England as English pacers sent Shubman Gill (9), Virat Kohli (0) and Shreyas Iyer (4) back to the pavilion early. Chris Woakes clean bowled Gill with a beautiful inswinger while Kohli was out playing an uncharacteristic shot to David Willey that saw him get caught at mid-off by Ben Stokes.

At the time of writing, Shreyas Iyer fell in the 12th over to Woakes with just 40 runs on the board. Rohit Sharma was not out at the other end at 27.

With inputs from PTI