Team India won everyone’s heart as they showed their support for the Black Lives Matter movement by taking the knee before the start of the 2021 T20 World Cup match against Pakistan in Dubai. Watching the Indian cricket team take a firm stance against racism with this movement, the Pakistan team members too paid tribute by holding their right hand to their hearts.
The Men in Blue took the knee in the playing area while others took the knee at the other side of the boundary ropes. This is the first time when the Indian players have taken a knee. West Indies and England were the first two teams to take the knee. Both the teams came up with this gesture before the opening Test of the series last year.
Infact, last year, Team India’s star all-rounder Hardik Pandya had joined the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement when he took the knee while playing for Mumbai Indians in IPL.
Meanwhile, fans on social media were left in awe of team India taking a stand against racism and joining the movement.
Here, check out the reactions of Twitterati on this:
Great to see the Indian team taking a knee ahead of the T20 World Cup.
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) October 24, 2021
Indian players taking the knee before the start of play. pic.twitter.com/8wxemxTCPP
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) October 24, 2021
OUR BOYS TAKING THE KNEE!??
Little things that matter :’) pic.twitter.com/SxEibYg6DS
— Jaanvi? (@ThatCric8Girl) October 24, 2021
Indians taking a knee!
#INDvPAK #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/IKTORfWhUj
— Vinesh Prabhu (@prabhu_vinesh94) October 24, 2021
Indian players taking the knee before the start of play. pic.twitter.com/yvbqJrRbCh#T20WorldCup21 #INDvPAK #IndvsPak #IndianCricketTeam #TeamIndia #TeamPakistan
— Girirajsinh Barad (@Giriraj_29_) October 24, 2021
Respect
— Unnati Madan (@unnati_madan) October 24, 2021
Meanwhile, team India got off to the worst possible start after being invited to bat first as Shaheen Shah Afridi dismissed both the openers with just six runs on the board.
India’s playing XI: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli(c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah
Pakistan’s playing XI: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi.
