India Wearing Black Armbands In T20 WC Game. Reason Is Emotional

The Indian cricket team will wear black armbands in honour of former fast bowler David Johnson who died on Thursday, during their T20 World Cup Super Eight match against Afghanistan. Johnson, who played two Tests for India in 1996, died after falling from his fourth-floor balcony in Bengaluru and the local police said they were in the process of determining if it was a case of suicide.

“Team India will wear black armbands today in memory of former India fast bowler David Johnson, who passed away on Thursday,” the BCCI informed shortly before the start of play here at the Kensington Oval.

Johnson played a Test each against Australia and South Africa and took three wickets, while he snaffled 125 wickets in 39 First-Class games and 41 dismissals in 33 List A games for Karnataka between 1992-93 to 2001-02.

Left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav replaces fast-bowler Mohammed Siraj in India's playing eleven as captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat first in the side's first Super Eight match of 2024 Men's T20 World Cup against Afghanistan at the Kensington Oval on Thursday.

India have met Afghanistan eight times in men's T20Is and have never lost to them in the format. The last time they met, India and Afghanistan were tied at 212 each at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru this year and played out two Super Overs before Rohit & Co eventually prevailed.

Kuldeep didn't feature in India's Group A matches in the USA due to conditions being favourable for fast bowlers. But with the expectation of spinners thriving in the West Indies as the game progresses, he is now all set to play his first T20 World Cup game.

It means India's bowling combination consists of three spinners, three pacers, and the part-time pace of Shivam Dube. “Looks alright at this moment, looks like a good track. No grass on the pitch, I guess it will get slower. It's better than New York. We have to adapt to the conditions quickly.”

“We have been here for a couple of days, we have played a lot of cricket. It's about understanding what we need to do in conditions like these. It's an early start. Usually starts in the evening elsewhere. We enjoy playing here,” said Rohit after winning the toss.

With IANS inputs