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Indian players stepped onto the field wearing black armbands on Day 3 of the third Test against England in Rajkot on Saturday, February 17. The cricketers did the same as a mark of respect for former India captain Dattajirao Gaekwad, who passed away recently.
England resumed Day 3 of the Rajkot Test at 207/2, responding to India’s first innings total of 445. The hosts struck a couple of early blows in the first session as Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Joe Root (18), while Kuldeep Yadav sent back Jonny Bairstow (0).
A few minutes before the start of play on Day 3, the BCCI put out a post on its official X handle which read:
“#TeamIndia will be wearing black arm bands in memory of Dattajirao Gaekwad, former India captain and India’s oldest Test cricketer who passed away recently. #INDvENG.”
Gaekwad, a former India Test captain, passed away on Tuesday, February 13 in Vadodara. He was the country’s oldest living Test cricketer. A right-handed batsman, Dattajirao played 11 Tests for India, scoring 350 runs at an average of 18.42, with one half-century.
He captained the Indian team during the tour of England in 1959 and last turned out for the country in 1961 in a match against Pakistan in Chennai. Gaekwad had a much longer first-class career during which he played 110 matches and scored 5,788 runs at an average of 36.40 and also claimed 25 wickets.
Gaekwad hit 17 hundreds and 23 fifties in his first-class career, with a best of 259. He also served as a coach of the Baroda team.
Gaekwad’s son Anshuman is also a former Indian cricketer. According to a report in the Times of India, the latter could not attend his father’s funeral as he has been suffering from blood cancer for the last few months.
Ravichandran Ashwin has withdrawn from the Rajkot Test due to a family emergency
Meanwhile, senior Team India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has withdrawn from the Rajkot Test due to a family medical emergency. The 37-year-old dismissed Zak Crawley for 15 on Day 2 of the Test match to complete 500 scalps in the format.
The BCCI, however, put up an official release on Friday night and said that the cricketer won’t feature in the remainder of the Test due to a family medical emergency. India will thus play with 10 players for the remainder of the Test match.
India struck two early blows on Day 3 in Rajkot, but Ben Duckett continued to defy the hosts. He was eventually dismissed by Kuldeep for 153 off 151 balls. England were 260/5 after 51 overs.
