T20 World Cup 2021: Eoin Morgan confirms England will take a knee in their opening match against the West Indies

England skipper Eoin Morgan has confirmed that his side will take a knee before the game when they go up against the West Indies in the opening match of the Super 12 stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

West Indies players have taken a knee in support of Black Lives Matter before all their matches ever since the inception of the movement. It was prompted by the murder of an African-American citizen, George Floyd, in the USA.

Morgan stated that the decision had arrived upon after confirmation from the West Indies squad about their stance.

“We have heard from the West Indies that they will be taking a knee and we will be joining them for the first game,” Eoin Morgan said on Tuesday.

England have been staging a “Moment of Unity” against all forms of discrimination in recent months. The skipper added that they have approached the International Cricket Council (ICC) about continuing to do so during the T20 World Cup.

“Games going on from there, we’ve been speaking to the ICC about the potential moment of unity before the game that we’ve been doing as part of our own piece at home. It hasn’t been cleared up whether that’s a possibility yet," Eoin Morgan added.

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Eoin Morgan's England side faced criticism for discontinuing the gesture of taking a knee

Michael Holding has criticised England sharply for discontinuing the gesture after one series

The England players staged the anti-racism gesture of taking a knee when West Indies toured the country in 2020. However, this was discontinued after the three-Test series.

The move to put an end to the practice drew a lot of flake from different circles, including former cricketer Michael Holding, who has championed the cause of Black Lives Matter.

Going by Eoin Morgan's statement, it appears as though England might only be staging the gesture during the match against the West Indies.