In a solemn start to the second Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham, both Indian and English players are wearing black armbands on the opening day on July 2. This gesture is a mark of respect for former England, Northamptonshire, and Durham cricketer Wayne Larkins, who passed away on June 28. The tribute to Larkins follows England captain Ben Stokes winning the toss and choosing to bowl first in the second Test against India.
Why India and England player are donning black armbands in 2nd Test?
Larkins had a notable international career for England between 1979 and 1991, during which he played 13 Tests and 25 One-Day Internationals. He scored 493 runs in Tests and 591 in ODIs. One of his most memorable contributions was hitting the winning runs in England's historic victory over the West Indies at Sabina Park in 1990. His international journey began with an ODI against New Zealand in 1979 and concluded with an ODI against Australia in Melbourne in 1991.
Talking about the match, England opted to field the same eleven that secured a five-wicket victory in the series opener at Leeds. In contrast, Shubman Gill made three big changes to India's playing XI. World No. 1 Test bowler Jasprit Bumrah, left-handed batsman B Sai Sudharsan, and fast-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur have been left out. Their places have been taken by pacer Akash Deep, all-rounder Washington Sundar, and Nitish Kumar Reddy.
After losing the toss, India captain Shubman Gill said:
"Would've bowled first as well. If there's anything in the wicket, it's in the first day. Three changes - Reddy, Washi and Akash Deep come in. No Bumrah. Just to manage his workload. We did get a good break and this is an important match for us. But the third Test being at Lord's, we think there'll be more in that pitch so we'll use him there. We were tempted to play Kuldeep but looking at the last match, our lower order didn't do well, so decided to add some depth to the batting.
Meanwhile, England skipper Ben Stoke after winning the toss said:
"We're going to bowl. Overhead conditions favour it. Did consider everything (bringing Archer into the squad?). Very good team performance last week, we're confident. You understand the conditions better as you go deeper into the Test. Brains and me and Baz are not three things you put together. Great run chase, great Test to be part of great start to the series. Last week is last week, need to concentrate on this week."
India's Playing XI:
Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Shubman Gill(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
England's Playing XI:
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes(c), Jamie Smith(w), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir