Why are Team India wearing black armbands for IND vs AUS 2025 Champions Trophy semifinal? 

Team India players will be wearing black armbands during the 2025 Champions Trophy semifinal clash against Australia on Tuesday, March 4. The two teams are squaring off at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

The Men in Blue will be wearing black armbands during the 2025 Champions Trophy game in honor of late Shri Padmakar Shivalkar as a sign of respect. Padmakar was a former cricketer and a Mumbai spin great, who passed away on Monday, March 3, at the age of 84.

He played 124 first-class matches for Mumbai and grabbed a massive 589 wickets at an average of 19.69 with 42 five-wicket and 13 ten-wicket hauls. Unfortunately, he never played for India but was known among the greats to have played for Mumbai.

The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) also took to X (formerly Twitter) to make the official announcement.

"In honour of the late Shri Padmakar Shivalkar, Team India is wearing black armbands today," the BCCI tweeted.

Captain Rohit Sharma could be seen wearing the black armband during the toss ahead of the 2025 Champions Trophy semifinal against Australia.

Meawhile, Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. India are playing this match with an unchanged team.

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India are unbeaten in the 2025 Champions Trophy

Heading into the semifinal of the 2025 Champions Trophy against Australia, India are unbeaten in the tournament. They topped Group A with three wins from as many games, gathering six points.

India began their campaign against Bangladesh and beat them comfortably by six wickets. Their next clash was against arch-rivals Pakistan. The Men in Blue continued their winning run as they trashed Pakistan by six-wickets in a one-sided affair.

Further, they continued their dominance, beating New Zealand in their final group-stage match, winning by 44 runs. India last faced Australia in the Champions Trophy in 2009 and the game was eventually washed out.

The Men in Blue last won the Champions Trophy in 2013. They came close to defending their title in 2017 but lost to Pakistan in the final. India will aim to take a step closer to winning the trophy once again as they take on Australia in the semifinal.