The second Test of the ongoing five-match series between India and England is taking place at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Players from both teams are wearing black armbands.
India and England are currently facing off in the second Test of the five-match series at Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham.
India enters this match following a defeat against the hosts in the first Test held in Leeds. Therefore, they will be striving to win this match to equalize the series. Conversely, England aims to secure a solid 2-0 advantage in the series.
As the players stood for the national anthem, it was notable that both teams were wearing black armbands.
Why are India and England players wearing black armbands?
The players from India and England are donning black armbands during the second Test to honor the memory of former England cricketer Wayne Larkins, who passed away on May 28 (Thursday) at the age of 71. Larkins represented England in 13 Tests and 25 ODIs from 1979 to 1991, accumulating 498 runs in Tests and 591 runs in ODIs, with just one international century to his name.
He is regarded as a legend at the County side Northamptonshire, where he amassed an impressive total of 27,142 first-class runs across 482 matches.
On Day 1, Day 3, and Day 5 of the first Test held from June 20 to 24 in Leeds, players from India and England donned black armbands to honor the victims of the Ahmedabad plane crash, in memory of David Lawrence and Dilip Doshi, respectively.
Talking about the match, England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to bowl first. The England team remains unchanged from the squad that secured a 5-wicket victory in the series opener in Leeds, while the Indian team management has implemented three alterations to their playing XI for the second match.
In the 2nd Test, World No. 1 Test bowler Jasprit Bumrah, left-handed batsman B Sai Sudharsan, and fast-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur are absent. They have been substituted by Akash Deep, Washington Sundar, and Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Bumrah, who excelled as India’s leading bowler in the series opener at Headingley from June 20 to 24, has been rested for the Edgbaston Test as part of a workload management strategy and is set to return for the third Test at Lord’s.