• Home
  • Match Hub
  • Why Are West Indies Players Wearing Black Armbands On Day 1 Of Ind Vs Wi 2nd Test

Why are West Indies players wearing black armbands on day 1 of IND vs WI 2nd Test?

Sakshi Sharma

West Indies (Source:@windiescricket,x.com)West Indies (Source:@windiescricket,x.com)

In a significant development, the West Indies players are wearing black armbands on Day 1 of the second Test match against India at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. The players are wearing black armbands in tribute to former WI cricketer Bernard Julien, who passed away last week at the age of 75.

Julien was a key member of the WI team that won the first-ever Cricket World Cup in 1975 under the captaincy of Clive Lloyd. Cricket West Indies (CWI) confirmed the tribute in an official statement - 

“The West Indies players are wearing black armbands on Day 1 as a tribute to former player Bernard Julien who passed away last week. Allrounder Julien was a member of the 1975 World Cup-winning team.”

Earlier in the day, Indian captain Shubman Gill won the toss and chose to bat first. Interestingly, this is the first time Gill has won a toss as India’s captain.

India is playing with the same XI that won the first Test in Ahmedabad by an innings and 140 runs. Meanwhile, the West Indies made two changes to their team. Tevin Imlach and Anderson Phillip came into the playing XI, replacing Brandon King and Johann Layne.

At the time of writing this article, India has had a decent start and made 34 runs with Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul at the crease.

Who Was Bernard Julien?

Bernard Julien was a talented all-rounder. He bowled left-arm fast-medium and batted right-handed. He represented the West Indies in 24 Test matches and made 866 runs at an average of 30.92 and took 50 wickets. In ODIs, he took 18 wickets at an impressive average of 25.72.

Julien passed away in northern Trinidad. He will be remembered as an important part of West Indies’ golden era during the 1970s.