IPL 2020: Reason why DC players are wearing black armbands against MI

After hard fought 56 matches in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 season, Mumbai Indians (MI) and Delhi Capitals (DC) ended at the top two spots in the points table. The two teams locked horns in the first qualifier on Thursday with a place in the final at stake. The four-time and defending champions dominated the league stage with nine wins.

The Capitals, on the other hand, lost four matches on the trot in the second half and could only confirm their place in the playoffs with a win over Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their last league game. As far as the match is concerned, Shreyas Iyer won the toss and invited MI to bat first.

But soon after the play began, the fans were baffled to see the DC players wear the black armbands on the field. The commentator on air though was quick enough to clear their doubt as he informed that the pacer Mohit Sharma’s father, Mahipal Sharma, passed away. To pay the tribute to him, the Capitals wore the black armbands on the field.

As far as the team combination is concerned, DC went unchanged in the game having won the last match while MI including three of their top players after resting them in the previous outing. Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya returned for them in place of Dhawal Kulkarni, Saurabh Tiwary and James Pattinson.

Mandeep Singh and Nitish Rana also suffered personal losses in IPL 2020

This is not the first time that a player has lost a close one during the IPL this season. Mohit Sharma must have missed being with his family in Haryana during these tough times. Earlier, even Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) cricketer Mandeep Singh lost his father during the league stages. At that time, the cricketer opened the innings for the team and played a match-winning innings dedicating it to his father.

Even Nitish Rana showed a wonderful gesture for his late father-in-law in one of the earlier matches after scoring a fifty. He took out a jersey with the name Surinder written on it and dedicating the knock to him.