The Indian cricketers were seen playing black armbands as a tribute to the legendary Indian sprinter Milkha Singh, who passed away on Friday night. Milkha took his last breathe at 11:30 PM yesterday after a prolonged battle with COVID-19. For a long period of time, he held the world record in the 400m race.

Team India is taking part in the inaugural World Test Championship final against New Zealand. Announcing the same, BCCI had tweeted, “#TeamIndia is wearing black armbands in remembrance of Milkha Singhji, who passed away due to COVID-19.”

#TeamIndia is wearing black armbands in remembrance of Milkha Singhji, who passed away due to COVID-19. 🙏#WTC21

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 19, 2021

Earlier on Saturday, the Indian skipper, Virat Kohli paid tribute to the legendary Milkha Singh, who is a four-time Asian Games gold medallist and the 1958 Commonwealth Games champion.

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Paying tribute to the legend, Virat Kohli tweeted, “A legacy that inspired a whole nation to aim for excellence. To never give up and chase your dreams. Rest in Peace #MilkhaSingh ji Folded hands. You will never be forgotten.”

A legacy that inspired a whole nation to aim for excellence. To never give up and chase your dreams. Rest in Peace #MilkhaSingh ji 🙏. You will never be forgotten. pic.twitter.com/IXVmM86Hiv

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) June 19, 2021

Milkha had contracted COVID-19 last month and tested negative for the virus on Wednesday when he was shifted to general ICU in another block of the hospital. however, the doctors had said that he had been “stable” before Thursday evening. Milkha’s 85-year-old wife Nirmal, who had also been infected by the virus, passed away at a private hospital in Mohali on Sunday. The couple was suspected to have contracted the infection from a house help.

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New Zealand has won the toss and decided to bowl first citing teh cloudy conditions.

India playing XI: 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Rishabh Pant (wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Ishant Sharma, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Jasprit Bumrah.

New Zealand playing XI: 1 Tom Latham, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 BJ Watling (wk), 7 Colin de Grandhomme, 8 Kyle Jamieson, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Neil Wagner, 11 Trent Boult.