India vs India A 2025: Why are players wearing black armbands in intra-squad match?

Players and staff members from India and India A observed a minute’s silence prior to the commencement of the intra-squad game at the Kent County Cricket Ground in Beckenham to pay homage to those affected in the Air India plane crash which occurred near the Ahmedabad airport on the afternoon of June 12.

The aviation disaster came as a massive shock to the entire nation. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) posted on X (formerly Tiwtter) in which the players and the backroom staff were seen wearing black armbands in an act of solidarity.  

The tour match between the two sides was arranged by the BCCI previous month with an aim to provide some red-ball match practice to the team as most of the players are coming off a packed Indian Premier League 2025.

India A are coming off a two-match Test series against England Lions. Both the four-day games were drawn. The two matches which were played in Canterbury and Northampton, respectively, saw several players raising their hands and contributing vitally to the squad.

India will take on England in a five-match Test series. The highly-anticipated series in Headingley on June 20. It will be interesting to witness how the young Indian unit adapts to the English conditions without the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. 

There would be a number of players including Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, etc., who would like to stake a claim on the selectors and management by delivering the goods in what will be India’s first assignment of the 2025-27 cycle of the World Test Championship.