Mumbai Indians players have been advised to wear black armbands in the match against RCB and the reason has been explained by TOI reporter Gaurav Gupta.
Mumbai Indians will face Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 20th match of Tata IPL 2026. This game marks the beginning of rivalry week, as the two best IPL teams, with the biggest fan bases, will clash in the battle of the royals.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru have made a solid start with two wins after three matches, while, unlike them, Mumbai Indians won only their first match, ending a 13-year-long winning streak and then suffered two defeats due to poor bowling performances.
Why will Mumbai Indians players wear black armbands against RCB? – Reason revealed
Wearing a black armband in a game of cricket clearly means that the players would be mourning a death or some unfortunate event which is marked as a black day in the annual calendar.
Mumbai Indians will also be wearing black armbands when they take on Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. According to TOI reporter Gaurav Gupta, the MI team will honor the death of legendary Indian singer Asha Bhosle, who died in Mumbai this morning.
The 93-year-old legendary singer has sung in more than 20 Indian languages, and his name was recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most recorded artist in the history of music around the world.
Will RCB players also wear black armbands like MI?
The singer, who has been an inspiration to hundreds of singers and millions of Indian youth considering singing as their career, is a well-known figure not only in Mumbai but all over India. Asha Bhosle has sung in so many languages that she has contributed to almost every known industry of the country.
Therefore, in Gaurav Gupta’s opinion, not only Mumbai Indians but also the Royal Challengers Bangalore team should wear those bands to mourn the death of the singer of a generation. Additionally, the RCB team is also now owned by Indian owners in the Birla Group.
Ok..just got to know that Mumbai Indians players will wear black bands on their arms @IPL Tonight’s match against Royal Challengers Bangalore @RCBTweets
To mourn the demise of legendary singer Asha Bhosle tonight at Wankhede, Mumbai… @mipaltan https://t.co/rmg56HgJPg– Gaurav Gupta (@toi_gauravG) 12 April 2026
Fans will be divided between Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli at Wankhede.
Two legendary Indian cricketers Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have received immense love from Indian fans wherever they have played in India. Rohit Sharma is in good form in this season of IPL. He will once again return to his home ground Wankhede, where he scored a brilliant 78 runs in the first game to help Mumbai Indians win the opening game.
On the other hand, Virat Kohli will make a comeback with Royal Challengers Bangalore and will open the innings. The great batsman got out soon after making good starts for RCB in their last two matches against Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings. He would like to get back to his top form.
Also read: Ruturaj Gaikwad gives Virat Kohli the formula to overcome IPL 2026 slump