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Virat Kohli and Co. wear black arm-bands in remembrance of U-19 trainer Rajesh Sawant, Mohd Shami’s father

New Delhi: As soon as the Indian cricket team came out to on pitch for 2nd T20I against England at Nagpur, the crowd along with millions of spectators at home witnessed each member of the squad wearing a black arm-band.

It was later found out that the move was in remembrance of India’s U-19 fitness trainer Rajesh Sawant, who was found dead on Sunday morning, as well as Indian seamer Mohammed Shami’s father.

Rajesh Sawant, aged 40, was found dead in his hotel room in Mumbai, while Mohammed Shami’s father Tousif Ali suffered a fatal heart attack on Friday.

Indian U-19 coach Rahul Dravid had reportedly asked the team support staff to go and look for Sawant who was not responding to phone calls for a couple of days.

BCCI CEO Rahul Johri expressed sorrow on the news saying, “It’s a very unfortunate development. We are still in shock. Today when the boys left for practice, after reaching the stadium, it was found that Rajesh was not with the team. It was discovered that he had passed away in his hotel room.”

Mohammed Shami undergoing his rehab process with the Indian T20 team when the news of his father’s demise broke. He immediately rushed to Amroha. Shami’s brother Asif also revealed how his brother chose to fulfill national duty over accompanying father in what proved to be his final days.

India registered a narrow 5-run win over England in Nagpur to level the 3-match series 1-1.

Source: Zee News