Durham [UK], July 20 (ANI): The Indian players wore black armbands on the opening day of their three-day warm-up game against Select County XI on Tuesday as a mark of respect for former India batsman and selector Yashpal Sharma, who passed away on July 13 after cardiac arrest.
Taking to Twitter, BCCI wrote: "#TeamIndia are sporting black armbands to mourn the sad demise of former India cricketer Yashpal Sharma ji, who sadly passed away on 13th July after a cardiac arrest. Head Coach @RaviShastriOfc was his teammate in the 1983 World Cup winning squad."
Indians won the toss and opted to bat against County XI in the three-day warm-up game here in Durham. Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane have been rested for the clash, and as a result, Rohit Sharma is leading the outfit. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ishant Sharma have also been rested for the clash, and in their place, Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav have been called into the XI.
After the loss in the WTC finals against New Zealand, skipper Kohli had voiced his concern about not having enough practice matches and this put BCCI in work with ECB and a three-day warm-up game was arranged.
Last week, it was confirmed that wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant tested positive for Covid-19 and as a result, he is not available for this match. Throwdown specialist cum masseur Dayanand Garani also tested positive, and Wriddhiman Saha was asked to isolate as he was a 'close contact. This has seen KL Rahul coming in as the wicketkeeper.
The three-day match is being played behind closed doors, but it will be streamed on Durham's YouTube channel. (ANI)
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