The much-awaited World Test Championship (WTC) Final 2023 went underway on June 7, with India winning the toss and deciding to field first against Australia in the ultimate battle. Soon after the toss, the players of both teams came out for national anthems wearing black armbands and even observed a moment of silence before the game.
Notably, the motivation behind the gesture of the Indian and Australian teams to wear black armbands is to pay condolence to the victims of the tragic train accident in Odisha, which saw more than 250 people losing their lives and over 1000 getting injured. The same was confirmed by the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) in their official statement.
“The Indian Cricket Team will observe a moment of silence in memory of the victims of the Odisha train tragedy ahead of the start of play on Day 1 of the ICC World Test Championship final at The Oval. The team mourns the deaths and offers its deepest condolences to the families and friends of all those who tragically lost their lives. To express solidarity with those affected, Team India will wear black armbands.” said BCCI.
The Indian Cricket Team will observe a moment of silence in memory of the victims of the Odisha train tragedy ahead of the start of play on Day 1 of the ICC World Test Championship final at The Oval.
The team mourns the deaths and offers its deepest condolences to the families… pic.twitter.com/mS04eWz2Ym
— BCCI (@BCCI) June 7, 2023
It is worth mentioning that the unfortunate Odisha train accident was one of the deadliest in India’s history, and many cricketers had expressed their grief after the heart-wrenching incident as well. The Indian players to mourn the lives lost in the tragic accident included the likes of Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and Virender Sehwag.
Coming back to WTC Final 2023, the umpires of the match are also wearing black armbands to pay tributes to the deceased’s in a touching gesture by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
