India vs England: England Players Wear Black Armbands in First Test, Find Out Why

England cricketers wore black armbands in the first Test against India at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai as a tribute to inspirational war veteran Captain Tom Moore, who passed away recently.

The 100-year-old British army veteran Moore raised millions of pounds to help Britain's health service in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic last year. He had passed away with coronavirus on Tuesday.

IND vs ENG 1st Test Live Blog | Live Score

Joe Root's men wore black armbands when the teams stood for their respective national anthems before the visitors came out to bat.

"It's really sad news. I had the pleasure of getting a chance to speak to him at the start of the last year. I am sure his family would be extremely proud of the legacy he has left behind. Someone gave the nation a chance to smile about in these dark times. All the great things he did for the National Health Services (NHS), on behalf of the whole cricket team, I would like to send thoughts to him and his family," Root had earlier said in a video shared by England Cricket Board (ECB) before the start of the Test match.

 Injured Axar Patel Out of First Test; Rahul Chahar and Shahbaz Nadeem Added to Squad

"He spoke very fondly about the game of cricket throughout his life. From the whole cricket community, he will be sadly missed," he had added.

England won the toss and opted to bat first. Captain Joe Root received his 100th Test cap for England.

India went with five bowlers, and there was still no place for Kuldeep Yadav. Washington Sundar, R Ashwin and Shahbaz Nadeem are India's spinners along with the pace of Jasprit Bumrah and Ishant Sharma.

All-rounder Axar Patel was ruled out of the first Test due to a knee injury. Nadeem and Rahul Chahar were drafted into the squad.

Rory Burns, Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer returned to the England XI. There was no place for Stuart Broad.

The playing XIs:

India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant(w), Washington Sundar,  R Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Shahbaz Nadeem

England: Rory Burns, Dominic Sibley, Daniel Lawrence, Joe Root(c), Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler(w), Dominic Bess, Jofra Archer, Jack Leach, James Anderson

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