Why are the England players wearing black armbands in the 1st T20I against India?
The England cricket players are sporting black armbands in the first T20I against India as a mark of respect for former England and Surrey seamer Joey Benjamin, who passed away a couple of days ago owing to a heart attack.
Joey Benjamin, who played a solitary Test match for England, is often referred to as a legend in the country's domestic circles. He featured in 126 List-A games and picked up 387 wickets at an average of close to 30. In his only Test match, the St Kitts-born registered four wickets to his name.
Benjamin's former teammate and close associate, Martin Bicknell, led the tributes for his mate.
"Just heard some shocking news about the loss of Joey Benjamin. Joey was one of a kind, incredibly popular in the Surrey dressing room back in the day, so sad. RIP Benjy," he wrote in his tweet.
The England Cricket Board (ECB) also paid a tribute to Joey Benjamin.
"The ECB is saddened to learn of the death of former England bowler Joey Benjamin at the age of 60. Our thoughts are with Joey's friends and family," the cricket board wrote in its statement.
England begin their preparations for the T20 World Cup 2021
With a little more than 5-6 months to go until the T20 World Cup 2021 in India later this year, England, with the kind of squad that they've got, are one of the firm favourites to win the tournament.
In the ongoing first T20I of the five-match series, Eoin Morgan won the toss and elected to bowl first. The move seems to have paid rich dividends, with the England bowlers restricting India to 83-4 in 15 overs at the time of writing this piece.
With Shreyas Iyer and the big-hitting Hardik Pandya at the crease, India will hope to get to around 130-140 to challenge the formidable England batting unit.