India vs England: Teams might wear black armbands in the Chennai Test in memory of J Jayalalithaa

As a token of respect to the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Selvi J Jayalalitha, members of the Indian cricket team and their English counterparts might wear black armbands during the fifth and final Test between both these teams at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai.

The host association, Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) has requested India and England cricketers to wear black armbands on the course of Chennai Test as a mark of honouring the late AIADMK supremo, who passed away on December 5 in Chennai.

It was also revealed that there won’t be any kind of functions or felicitations during the match. "We have requested both England and India teams to wear black armbands as a mark of respect for the departed soul of our former CM. Because of this tragedy, the TNCA has decided against having any kind of function or felicitation during the match," a senior TNCA official told PTI earlier today.

After suffering a cardiac arrest late on December 4, Jayalalitha had her last breath at 11:30 PM on December 5. The state observed a 7-day mourning and TNCA confirmed that the match will go on as per the original schedule.

TNCA had one more obstacle before the Test as few days before the start of the Test, Cyclone Vardah lashed the city and caused considerable damage to the properties throughout the city including the stadium. A lot of eyebrows were raised and the match taking place at the venue looked uncertain. But, TNCA put in a lot of efforts and worked hard to get the ground ready in time for the Test, the first Test in Chennai since 2013.

India have already taken an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series and Virat Kohli’s boys will look to win the final Test to end the year on a high. India are yet to lose a single Test in 2016 as they won series against West Indies at their own backyard and followed it with a win over New Zealand and England at home.

A win in the final Test will mean make sure that Kohli’s men will extend their undefeated Test match streak to 18 games and thus create a new national record. England received a huge blow ahead of the series as their premier pacer James Anderson is ruled out of the Test due to soreness.