Why West Indies team are wearing black armband in IND vs WI 2nd Test?

West Indies cricket team players wearing black armbands on Day 1 of the second Test against India (IND vs WI) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Friday. Cricket fans are curious to know why they are wearing the black armbands. 

The West Indies cricket board released a statement explaining why they went to play the 2nd Test of the series against India with black armbands. It is a gesture from them as a tribute to former player Bernard Julien, who passed away last week. Julien was an all-rounder and was a member of the 1975 World Cup-winning team under the leadership of Clive Lloyd. 

"The West Indies players are wearing black armbands on day 1 as a tribute to former player Bernard Julien, who passed away last week. "Allrounder Julien was a member of the 1975 World Cup-winning team," the West Indies cricket board informed in a statement published on official social media platforms. 

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Julien was a left-arm fast bowler and right-handed batter who played 24 Tests for the West Indies. During this time, he made 866 runs at an average of 30.92 and took 50 wickets at 37.36. In ODIs, he claimed 18 wickets at 25.72.

West Indies made few changes in the starting xi

For the second test, the West Indies made a couple of changes in their lineup, while India is maintaining the same squad they used for the 1st test match, where they won effortlessly. 

"We were batting first as well; the pitch looks dry, so I'm not too worried. Obviously, we had some meetings, and we had some deep discussions as batters. And something that came up in meetings: we want to really try to bat the whole day and bat 90 overs. That’s something that we’re really looking forward to doing," West Indies captain Roston Chase said. 

India vs West Indies 2nd Test playing XIs:

West Indies: John Campbell, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Alick Athanaze, Shai Hope, Roston Chase (c), Tevin Imlach (w), Justin Greaves, Jomel Warrican, Khary Pierre, Anderson Phillip, Jayden Seales.

India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Dhruv Jurel (w), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj