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Players from Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians wore black armbands in their IPL 2025 match to mourn the 26 victims of a terrorist attack in Pahalgam.
SRH and MI players are wearing black armbands today. (Sportzpics Photo)
Players from Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Mumbai Indians (MI) are wearing black armbands in today’s IPL 2025 clash at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium to mourn the victims of the terrorist attack in Pahalgam that caused 26 deaths. The incident happened on Tuesday afternoon in Baisaran, often referred to as ‘mini Switzerland’, after terrorists opened fire on a large group of tourists from all across the country.
The teams also observed a minute’s silence to pay their respects to those affected by the incident. They were joined by the umpires and other match officials. The toss buildup and comments from both captains had a solemn tone to them as well. As per a PTI report before the match, no cheerleaders would be on the sidelines and no crackers would be burst.
Earlier, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia had released a statement expressing the community’s shock and anguish at the incident.
“The cricketing community is deeply shocked and anguished by the tragic loss of innocent lives in the gruesome terror attack at Pahalgam yesterday,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said. “On behalf of the BCCI, while condemning this ghastly and cowardly act with strongest possible words, I extend our heartfelt condolences to the berieved families and prayers for the departed souls. In sharing their pain and grief, we stand hand in hand at this hour of tragedy,” he added.
The Resistance Front (TRF), a part of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror group, claimed responsibility for the attack. An Indian Navy officer and an Intelligence Bureau personnel were also killed while several others were injured — in an incident that has sent shockwaves around the world.
IPL hosted the match between Lucknow Super Giants and Delhi Capitals on the night of the incident without any such measures, as information was still coming in and being regularly verified. It remains to be seen what impact this incident will have on the sport and cricketing relations between India and Pakistan.
Since the 2008 Terror attack in Mumbai, India and Pakistan have not played any bilateral international cricket, although their matches in ICC tournaments have grown exponentially. Pakistan players have also been barred from the IPL and the Women’s Premier League.
