Players and support staff from India and England wore black armbands on the opening day of the first Test at Headingley on Friday as a mark of respect for the victims of the recent Air India plane crash. The tribute was observed before the start of play in the opening match of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series. The Indian team had also paid homage to the victims during their practice match on June 13, where they wore black armbands and observed a minute’s silence.
The tragedy occurred on June 12 when an Air India flight traveling from Ahmedabad to London crashed shortly after takeoff. The aircraft went down near a medical college complex in Ahmedabad. The flight was carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members. The list of passengers included 69 Indian nationals, 53 British citizens, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian. Only one person survived the crash. The official death toll has reached 265.
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The tribute at Headingley was a show of solidarity by both teams and a gesture to honour those who lost their lives in one of the country’s deadliest air disasters in recent years.
England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and opted to bowl against India. Sai Sudharsan has become India's Test cap number 317. The 23-year-old received his maiden Test cap from India stalwart Cheteshwar Pujara. Karun Nair earned a place back on the Indian team for the first time in eight years.
England Playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir
India Playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
