IND v WI 2022: Indian team sports black armbands to condole demise of Lata Mangeshkar; BCCI mourns her passing

Lata Mangeshkar was a huge cricket fan.

The Indian team was seen wearing black armbands when it took the field for the first ODI against West Indies in the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on February 6, 2022. This was the first time Rohit Sharma was leading the Men in Blue as full-time white-ball captain.

This ODI is also historic for the Indian team as it is their 1000^th match in the 50-over format, making them the first team to achieve this feat in the history of cricket. 

"Indian Players will sport black armbands in the first ODI against West Indies at the Narendra Modi Stadium to condole the demise of Lata Mangeshkar. The national flag will fly at half-mast," BCCI VP Rajeev Shukla told ANI.

BCCI also tweeted: “The Indian Cricket Team is wearing black armbands today to pay their respects to Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar ji who left for her heavenly abode on Sunday morning. The queen of melody, Lata didi loved cricket, always supported the game and backed Team India.”

Lata Mangeshkar passes away at the age of 92 years; Indian cricket fraternity pays rich tributes

The BCCI also mourned the passing of the singing legend tweeted: "The BCCI joins the nation in mourning the loss of Bharat Ratna Smt. Lata Mangeshkar ji. The queen of melody enthralled the country for decades. An avid follower of the game and an ardent supporter of Team India, she helped create an awareness using music as a medium."

The BCCI also shared a video of the Indian team members observing a one-minute silence to pay respects to the Indian singing legend.

The Bharat Ratna awardee Lata Mangeshkar was admitted to the Breach Candy hospital in Mumbai after contracting COVID-19 on January 8 and suffered from pneumonia as well. Though having recovered from COVID, the singer was put on ventilator support after her condition worsened on Saturday.

Dr Pratit Samdani, who was treating Lata Mangeshkar at Mumbai's Breach Candy Hospital, said today, "It is with profound grief that we announce the sad demise of Lata Mangeshkar at 8:12 am. She has died because of multi-organ failure after more than 28 days of hospitalization post-COVID-19."

Two-day national mourning will be observed in memory of Lata Mangeshkar. The national flag will also fly at half-mast for two days, as a mark of respect, and she will be given a state funeral.

India team won the toss and chose to bowl first. Deepak Hooda was handed his ODI debut, while Ishan Kishan was included in the team as an opener.

(ANI inputs)