Why are England players wearing black armbands?

The India-England Test series kicked-off on Friday with the first of the four Tests at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. The England team are seen wearing black armbands. 

This is move by the England team is a mark of respect to the inspirational war veteran and fund-raising hero Captain Sir Tom Moore.

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Sir Tom Moore died earlier this week after being admitted to the hospital after tested covid-19 positive.

“The England team are wearing black armbands in respect of inspirational war veteran and fundraising hero Captain Sir Tom Moore, who died aged 100 earlier this week after being admitted to hospital with coronavirus,” the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said in a statement on Friday.

Following his demise, several current and former England cricketers paid their respect to Sir Tom Moore. In a video shared by England Cricket Board (ECB), England captain Joe Root said, “Really sad news, 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.”

The England skipper won the toss and chose to bat first against India in the first Test.

While Indian captain Virat Kohli and Ishant Sharma made a comeback that was expected, Shahbaz Nadeem was surprisingly chosen ahead of Kuldeep Yadav.

On the other hand, England made four changes to their XI who played against Sri Lanka last month. Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Rory Burns are added to the squad, while Ollie Pope replaced injured Zak Crawley.