In a noble gesture, the Indian cricket team on Sunday wore black armbands during their ODI World Cup 2023 match against England in the memory of the legendary spinner and former captain Bishan Singh Bedi, who passed away on October 23.
Bedi, who died last Monday following a prolonged period of illness at the age of 77, represented India in 67 Tests and 10 ODIs, taking a combined of 273 wickets.
“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 start of the match in Lucknow.
With an astounding 1560 first-class wickets to his credit, Bedi also led India in 22 Tests, with three of the six wins coming on foreign soil. He also featured in India’s inaugural ODI, played on July 13, 1974, in Leeds.
At the time of his retirement, Bedi held the distinction of being India’s highest wicket-taker in Test cricket.
Post-retirement, he briefly served as Manager and was also a national selector. His illustrious cricketing journey was aptly recognized with several accolades, including the prestigious Padma Shri in 1970 and BCCI’s C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004 and ICC’s Cricket Hall of Fame.
Earlier, England skipper Jos Buttler won the toss and opted to bowl first against India at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium.
Both India and England are unchanged for the clash. This is the first time India bat first in this ongoing World Cup.
Hosts India are the only unbeaten side so far in the tournament, winning all five of their matches. Defending champions England, on the other hand, haven’t performed as per the expectations and are languishing at the bottom of the points table.
Playing XIs:
India: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
England: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler(w/c), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood
