Why Did Australian & South African Players Wear Black Armbands During WTC Final?

The SA vs AUS WTC Final 2025 is being played at the prestigious Lord's Cricket Ground, and the game is all tensed up between the two teams. The players from both teams were seen wearing black armbands. This is due to the crash of the Air India plane with 242 aboard in Ahmedabad near the airport. The London-bound Air India flight AI 171 crashed, and multiple casualties are being reported. Due to this extremely tragic incident, players of both South Africa and Australia are wearing black armbands to mourn and express their deepest condolences to the untimely passing of these innocent lives on June 12.

SA vs AUS WTC Final Black Armbands

On Day 3 of the WTC Final, the players of both teams, along with the officials, stood in union ahead of the start of the day to mourn all those who have lost their lives in the Ahmedabad Air Crash. A moment of silence was held, and a similar gesture also took place in the intra-squad match between India and India A side. This tragedy has shocked the world, as 241 people were on board and only one survivor has been reported till now. People of different nationalities were on the flight, and some 53 UK Nationals were also on the flight.

The WTC Final Black Armbands was a moment that showed cricket stands united when it comes to horrific incidents in humanity. Alongside the Australian and the South African players, the whole crowd at Lord's shared a moment of silence to pay tribute to the people who lost their lives in this tragic accident.

Australia Inching Ahead Towards Another ICC Trophy

Moving back to the game amidst this tragedy, the SA vs AUS WTC Final is moving along at a great pace. Australia were 218 runs ahead of South Africa at the start of Day 3 with two wickets in hand. South Africa were looking to close things off quickly, but Mitchell Starc had some other plans as he had faced over a hundred deliveries and Australia led by over 250 runs with one wicket in hand. Starc finally completed a well-deserved half century as well.

But, one cannot mistake themselves by ruling out South Africa, as this match is still very open for both teams. A target of above 200 has been chased 4 times in the Lord's Cricket Ground in the fourth innings. The target for the Proteas is 282, and the result is slightly tilted towards the mighty Aussies due to an extremely gritty knock by Mitchell Starc.

India Players Black Armbands

Meanwhile, India vs India A are playing a warm-up game ahead of the five-match Test series against England. Before the intra-squad match between India and India A began at Kent County Cricket Ground in Beckenham, the players and the staff paused for a minute of silence to honor the victims of the Air India plane crash that occurred near Ahmedabad airport on the afternoon of June 12.

The tragedy sent the nation into shock, and in response, the cricket community united in grief. In a gesture of respect, players and support staff wore black armbands, as shown in a post by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on X (formerly Twitter).