During Sunday’s Cricket World Cup 2023 match against England, the Indian cricket team decided to wear black armbands. With this decision, the squad wanted to honor the nation’s late great spinner, Bishan Singh Bedi, who passed away a few days ago. Scroll down to read Revealed: Why Team India is Wearing Black Armbands.
Revealed: Why Team India is Wearing Black Armbands
The news was verified by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in a social media post. “#TeamIndia will be wearing Black Armbands in memory of the legendary Bishan Singh Bedi before the start of play against England in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023,” the BCCI tweeted on X, which used to be Twitter.
Bishan Singh Bedi, who was born in 1946 in Amritsar, played 67 Test matches for India and claimed 266 wickets, including one 10-wicket haul and fourteen five-wicket hauls. He belonged to the illustrious group of spinners in Indian cricket, which also included Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, Srinivas Venkataraghavan, and Erapalli Prasanna.
Between 1966 and 1978, they comprised the backbone of India’s bowling unit for over ten years.
In 1990, Bedi led the Indian cricket team on short visits to England and New Zealand.
Along with being a national selector, he mentored and advised other gifted spinners, including Maninder Singh, Sunil Joshi, and Murali Kartik, all of whom attested to his technical acumen.
One of the most respected Indian captains, Bedi took charge of the team for over four years in Test cricket from 1975 to 1979 following the retirement of Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi.
To pay their final respects were prominent figures in Indian cricket, such as Kirti Azad, Madan Lal, Sehwag, and captain Kapil Dev, who won the World Cup.
Ashish Nehra, Ajay Jadeja (who is currently serving as a support staff member in Afghanistan), and Murali Kartik (who picked up trade secrets from the “Sardar of Spin”) were also in attendance.
So, the reason was the Indian cricket team donned black armbands to honor the late Bishan Singh Bedi, a great spinner who passed away a few days earlier.
Also read, Cricket Giant Bedi Saab Will Be Missed
