Bangladesh players wear black armbands in the semi-final against India

As India and Bangladesh fight it out in the high octane Champions Trophy semi-final at Birmingham, to seal a spot in the final on June 18, the Bangladesh Tigers are sporting black armbands in memory of the lives lost in the natural calamity that took place in their country in the last few days.

Ahead of the match, Bangladesh Cricket Team’s media manager Rabeed Imam confirmed that the team would be wearing black badges during the match as many lives were lost in Bangladesh due to a landslide. Though the death toll is rising by the day, as many as 133 people died in three districts in the last two days: Chittagong, Rangamati and Bandarban, according to a tally by the disaster management and relief ministry.

The worst hit was Rangamati which has seen a devastating series of landslides in a decade which claimed 105 lives there, has been lurching into uncertainty with a crisis of food, power and fuel. The death toll also included four soldiers who were trapped by a landslide after they joined a rescue operation in Rangamati. One soldier is still missing reported BDcrictime. At least four troops were killed in the course of search-and-rescue efforts, as well.

In the press conference ahead of the encounter, Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza also expressed grief over the incident and conveyed sympathies to the families of the people who died in the tragedy as well as the soldiers who sacrificed their lives to save other people.

Though the devastation was huge, the historic qualification of Bangladesh in their first ever ICC semi-final would have provided a small ray of positivity for the disaster-affected country. If they do qualify for the finals, it would be a sweet victory for the passionate Bangladesh cricket teams fans.

“Those who died while saving others, may their souls rest in peace,” Mashrafe said.