The decision of the Indian hockey federation to change the colour of the team’s jersey to saffron from blue has drawn criticism, with former captain Viren Rasquinha describing the change as embarrassing.

“The legacy and identity of the Indian team has always been blue,” he said on social media on Wednesday. “I wore the blue jersey with pride for many years. Fans want to see our Indian team in blue. What is the logic of orange?”

The hockey federation launched the new jersey on Monday. In a social media video, the federation said that the saffron colour “symbolises courage, sacrifice and victory”.

The new colours scheme has been inspired by the national flag and the rising sun, it said, adding that the new jersey “reflects new beginnings”.

Several social media users criticised the colour blue being replaced with saffron, saying that the change hurts the team’s legacy and identity.

India has traditionally had blue as the colour of the primary jersey. The country’s sports teams are often called by fans as the “men in blue” or “women in blue”.

The collar of the new jersey is blue, alongside thin saffron, white and green stripes on the shoulders.

The jersey also has darker patterns to “celebrate India’s rich cultural heritage”. The federation said that the change “embodies the spirit of Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat”. One India, Supreme India.

The new jersey was launched ahead of the men’s world cup in Belgium and the Netherlands in August.

On Thursday, Rasquinha, who played for India between 2002 and 2008, said that he was “seeing many unnecessary political comments” on his remarks and that he did not want to get into it. “My simple and humble point is on pride, identity and legacy,” he added.

India is to hockey what Argentina is to football, he said. “Will we ever see Argentina wearing orange and white stripes as their 1st jersey?” the former hockey player asked.

The Argentine football team’s traditional colours are blue and white stripes.

In the 2019 men’s cricket world cup, the Indian team wore an alternate jersey, which was mostly orange, for its match against home team England. The change was in line with the International Cricket Council’s regulation at the time requiring designated away kits.

The change had led to criticism by fans and Opposition leaders alleging that it was an attempt to “saffronise the entire country”.

Written by Nachiket Deuskar. Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

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