Honour departed players by using black arm bands, says Sunil Gavaskar

John Reid was one of New Zealands greats in the 1950s and was also ICC match referee, Gavaskar wrote in his Sunday mid-day column

Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has called for the use of black arm bands by teams whenever a player, who has represented his or her country, passes away.

"New Zealand's former captain John Reid also left us earlier in the week. He was one of New Zealand's greats in the 1950s and was also ICC match referee," Gavaskar wrote in his Sunday mid-day column, after paying rich tributes to sports writer and commentator Kishore Bhimani.

He added: "A few days earlier, Najeeb Tarakai, who played a solitary one-day game and a few T20 internationals for Afghanistan, died after he was hit by a car while crossing the road. "Disappointingly but unsurprisingly, no player wore a black arm band to show respect to the departed souls. It appears that black arm bands will be worn only for some players but not every player. Whether you have played one game or hundreds of games for a country, the player belongs to the cricketing family and despite any differences perceived or imagined, his or her passing away should be mourned by the fraternity."

Of Bhimani, Gavaskar wrote: "Kishore also helped in drawing up the letter to the BCCI when the Indian Cricketers Association was first formed on the India tour of West Indies in 1976. On the flight between the Caribbean Islands, he would sit with me and discuss the formation of the Association and how to go about it."

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