The fifth Test match featuring India and England in Chennai could witness players from both the teams wearing black armbands as a mark of tribute to former Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa, who took her last breath on December 5. Such tributes are also seen as a positive act of solidarity.
The black armband culture is not new and was used for the first time in 1770 in England, as a symbol of mourning.
It did not necessarily mean a band, but most of the times then, people used to wear black suits and black crepe armbands.
It was in 1861 after the death of the Queen Victoria's husband when the servants had to wear crepe armbands for about eight years, according to peopleof.oureverydaylife.com.
Since then, the concept of such armbands has changed with people using them in various forms of protest against social or political issues as well as mourning. This form of protest was initially taken note of when three students in the United States of America wore black armbands to school as a sign of protest against US' involvement in the Vietnam War in 1965.
The concept of such black armbands has been regularly seen in sports as well. Players have been seen wearing it as a mark of respect when some significant person or a team mate dies. One has also seen sports-persons wearing these bands after lives have been lost in a natural disaster.
Most of the time, a minute of silence is also observed before the match to remember the person Let us try to recollect such moments from sports of late, where black armbands have been worn.
Colombia plane crash, carrying Chapecoense team football players, 2016: Big clubs like Manchester United and Arsenal among other clubs in the Premier League paid their respects to the 71 people who lost their lives in the crash. There was a minute of silence observed ahead of their respective matches. This is the latest instance when sportspersons wore black armbands.
Paris attacks in 2015: More than 130 people were killed in France's capital, which was attacked by terrorists including suicide bombers. The city also saw several instances of mass shooting. The world was shocked by the incident, and Formula One driver Romain Grosjean from France also paid tributes to the victims by wearing a black arm band in the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Phil Hughes' death in 2014: The Australia batsman died an unfortunate death after a ball struck his head while playing a domestic competition. The player was rushed to the hospital, but died a few days later on November 27 2014. India and Australia players, following his death, wore black armbands in the first Test.
