In the ongoing Sydney Test between India and Australia, the visitors are having an upper hand after the first two sessions of Day 1 as they have lost just two wickets. The Indian skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and had no hesitation in batting first.
When the teams walked out for the national anthem, players of both the team were seen wearing black armbands on their sleeves. Usually, cricketers around the world wear a black band as a token of respect to the deceased or in the case of any unfortunate event that occurs in relation to the sport or their country.
The Indian players wearing the band can be justified as they were paying tribute to late coach Ramakant Achrekar, who was the coach of a lot of stalwarts of Indian cricket like Sachin Tendulkar. But, surprisingly, Australians were also wearing the band.
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A day before the start of the fourth Test, Achrekar took his last breath in Mumbai. He had been battling symptoms related to old age for the past few days and the news of his death was confirmed by his relatives. One of his family members told PTI, “He (Archrekar Sir) is no more with us. He passed away this evening.”
Confirming the reason behind Indian players wearing the band, the BCCI said, “As a mark of respect to the demise of Mr.Ramakant Achrekar, the team is wearing black armbands today.”
As a mark of respect to the demise of Mr.Ramakant Achrekar, the team is wearing black arm bands today. #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/LUJXXE38qr
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 2, 2019
After the demise, BCCI tweeted, “The BCCI expresses its deepest sympathy on the passing of Dronacharya award-winning guru Shri Ramakant Achrekar. Not only did he produce great cricketers, but also trained them to be fine human beings. His contribution to Indian Cricket has been immense.”
The BCCI expresses its deepest sympathy on the passing of Dronacharya award-winning guru Shri Ramakant Achrekar. Not only did he produce great cricketers, but also trained them to be fine human beings. His contribution to Indian Cricket has been immense. pic.twitter.com/mK0nQODo6b
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 2, 2019
Achrekar played a crucial role in creating the careers of a few Mumbai players including the likes of Vinod Kambli, Balwinder Singh Sandhu, Ajit Agarkar, and Sameer Dighe among others.
Meanwhile, the Australians are also wearing black armbands today in memory of former Australia and New South Wales batsman Bill Watson who passed away recently at the age of 87.
