India’s captain, Virat Kohli, explained that the team’s decision to kneel before Pakistan in the 2021 T20 World Cup opener was made after communication from the management.
During the Indian team’s 2021 T20 World Cup opener against Pakistan, Captain Virat Kohli said the team management had communicated the kneeling gesture to them. To show their support for the ‘Black Lives Matter movement, Indian captain Virat Kohli and the rest of the Indian team knelt before their World Cup T20 match against Pakistan on Sunday in Dubai.
“The management informed us of this. As a result, both the Pakistani and our teams agreed to pay their respects to the same cause. Yes, that was the final decision, “At the post-match press conference on Sunday, Kohli made the following statement.
Prior to the Indian openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul walking out to bat, the Indian players were seen taking a knee outside the team dugout. The Pakistani team, led by captain Babar Azam, also paid their respects by placing their right hand on their heart as a sign of respect.
Since the death of African-American George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis in May of last year, sportspeople, including cricketers around the world, have taken the knee to show support for the anti-racism movement.
This was the first time the Indian team had made the gesture. During the first-ever Test series between England and the West Indies last summer, the teams and officials all took a knee.
On Sunday, India was humiliated by Pakistan, losing by a massive margin of 10 wickets, their first defeat at a World Cup to their archrivals.
After being put in to bat, India was completely outplayed. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul were both dismissed early on by Pakistan’s Shaheen Shah Afridi, who returned to dismiss captain Virat Kohli after he had scored a gutsy half-century.
Pakistan, on the other hand, coasted to victory in the chase with barely breaking a sweat. Pakistan reached the target with 10 wickets in hand and 13 balls remaining thanks to the unbeaten partnership between Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan.
