India, England players wear black armbands, mourn Air India crash victims in Leeds
England and India wore black armbands in the first Test at Headingley, as a mark of respect to the victims of the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad in June. India captain Shubman Gill, his England counterpart Ben Stokes and the rest of their teammates were seen wearing black armbands as they entered the iconic venue for the customary pre-match routines.advertisementThe two teams observed a minute's silence before the start of play on Friday, June 20."Both teams will wear black armbands today as a mark of respect for those who lost their lives in the Air India plane crash," England cricket board said in a statement.
"Our thoughts are with all those affected by the terrible events that took place in Ahmedabad last week".ENG vs IND, 1st Test: UpdatesBefore the start of the Test match, India players wore black armbands during an intra-squad practice match in Beckenham and mourned the loss of lives in the plane crash. A London-bound Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into the campus of a medical college and burst into flames on June 12. All but one of the 242 passengers and crew on board the flight (AI 171) and another 29 people, including five MBBS students, on the ground were killed.A perfectly observed minutes silence.This morning we remember those lost in the tragic Air India crash last week. pic.twitter.com/mEDsQPqVmH— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 20, 2025advertisementA GOOD BATTING WICKET: GILLSpeaking at the toss, newly-appointed captain Shubman Gill was not too bothered after losing the toss, as he believed that the surface looked like one for the batters after the first session."We would've bowled first as well, you know. It's been a dry summer, hopefully there's going to be a little bit in the first session, but I think it's going to be a good batting wicket after that," Gill commented."Great day, you know, the sun is out and it's looking like a good batting day for us," he added.Speaking on the preparations, Gill was confident in the side after their practice games and the intra-squad match. He backed the team to be in the right space to open their World Test Championship (WTC) campaign for the 2025-2027 season on a positive."Preparation has been, you know, amazing. We were practising in Beckenham for the past 10 days we had a practice game. I think all the boys are feeling in a good space physically and mentally," he commented.NO EASWARAN, ARSHDEEP FOR 1ST TESTIndia handed Sai Sudharsan a debut in Leeds and brought back Karun Nair, who returned to the Test XI for the first time since March 2017. Prasidh Krishna joined Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj as the third frontline pacer for the series opener.advertisementGill revealed that they have opted for a four-man fast-bowling attack with Ravindra Jadeja being the lone-spinner. Shardul Thakur was picked as the second all-rounder in the XI."We've gone with three fast bowlers and Shardul (Thakur) bhai, Sai (Sudharsan) makes his debut, and Karun comes back in." Gill also clarified that Sudharsan would come in at three.India's Playing 11 for Headingley Test: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Rishabh Pant(wk), Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.
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