Hockey: Sudden Switch from Blue to Saffron Jersey Has Seven Ex-Captains Enraged

Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) has announced that for the world cup starting August 15, saffron is the colour to be worn. Veterans not convinced of reasons cited.

New Delhi: Several greats associated with hockey, ex-captains and even the Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey have questioned the decision to suddenly change the premier jersey for the Indian hockey team to saffron from traditional blue, as well as the process behind the decision to suddenly change the colour of the Indian hockey team’s jersey.

Tirkey has said it was implemented without the knowledge of the federation’s elected leadership or Executive Board. He has sought a detailed explanation from officials.

In an email addressed to the Hockey India Executive Board and reports Sportstar, Tirkey wrote that he wanted to “bring to your attention the recent change in the colour of the Indian national team’s jersey,” adding that the decision “appears to have been taken and implemented without being placed before the Executive Board for discussion and without my prior knowledge.” Tirkey said his objection was not to the new saffron colour itself but to the manner in which the decision was made. “My concern is not with the choice of saffron itself. However a decision of this significance involving the identity and representation of the national team should ideally have been discussed with the elected leadership and the Executive Board before implementation.”

Former captain Viren Rasquinha questioned the move, and termed the move, embarrassing. I must say that The Hockey federation has done many good things for Indian hockey. But this is embarrassing. The legacy & identity of the Indian team has always been BLUE. 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?” he quizzed.

I must say that @TheHockeyIndia has done many good things for 🇮🇳 🏑. But this is embarrassing. The legacy & identity of the Indian team has always been BLUE. 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? https://t.co/apDnJkTld4 — Viren Rasquinha (@virenrasquinha) July 29, 2026

The reason cited by Hockey India for the sudden change in colours to orange, as a result of “technical feedback” received, and for the fact that it is part of the tricolour, or India’s national flag, is not going down well.

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This mixing of reasons – technical as blue is hard to tell from the astroturf on which the game is played and the saffron as it is part of the colours of the national flag is being seen as spurious – especially as the blue is also part of the tricolour, the chakra in the centre, is blue.

A video put out to announce that the premier jersey for both, the men's and women's teams for the World Cup, beginning August 15 in the Netherlands and Belgium, also says that “saffron (kesariya)” is the colour of “courage, sacrifice and victory.”

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Another former India captain, who led India the last time it won the gold at the 1980 Moscow Olympics V. Baskaran, is cited by The New Indian Express as saying that the move is “laughable” as blue is associated with not just the country but also the players' emotions.

"I will go even further. When you see blue, you immediately associate that colour with Indian hockey. You know which was the first Indian sports team to wear blue? The hockey team. We have always worn some shade of blue or white," said Bhaskaran. "Our legendary Olympic teams and players brought laurels to the country with that colour. All the other teams, including the cricket team, adopted the blue at a time when we had already worn it for decades. I do not know why they (Hockey India) have done it. And even if they wanted to do it, I do not agree with the timing – so close to the World Cup – one bit."

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Twice Olympic medallist and former India captain Ajit Pal Singh was flummoxed at the federation’s decision, calling the explanation ‘absurd’. “Blue has always been the national colour even before my time. We won two Olympic bronze medals in 2021 and 2024, so what was the need to change now?” asked Ajit Pal, reports Sportstar.

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Dhanraj Pillay, another former captain and someone who wore the India colours in 339 international matches, that is four Olympics, four World Cups and four Champions Trophy tournaments, said the blue jersey has remained synonymous with Indian hockey for generations. "The blue jersey has become the identity of Indian hockey. Being one of the colours of our national flag, saffron is important and auspicious but it has never been the traditional colour of Indian hockey. I don't understand why this has suddenly changed after so many years," Pillay told PTI.

"From the 1928 Olympic team to the eras of Dhyan Chand, Balbir Singh Sr., Mohammad Shahid, Zafar Iqbal and even the 1980 Moscow Olympic gold medal-winning side, everyone played in the blue jersey. I played for nearly 15 years and throughout my career our jersey remained blue." A visibly irate veteran said players associate themselves with the traditional colours of the country’s team.

"This is not a franchise tournament like the IPL or Hockey India League where teams wear different colours. The Indian team's identity has always been the blue jersey," he added.

Pargat Singh, another respected former hockey captain, now an MLA in Punjab said it reflected the Federation’s "petty mindset” and instead urged the Federation to “focus on promoting players, providing them facilities", reports The Tribune.

Olympic stalwart P.R. Sreejesh, a legendary goalie and former captain, felt no issue with visibility during his playing time, he told Sportstar, which noted that he stressed it was important for the federation to listen to the suggestions of the players. “We played in different colours in 2014, but there were no issues then. It all depends on the choice of the federation and the players,” said Sreejesh.

Using national sporting events to make points that serve the political interests of the BJP have been made several points while evaluating the state of the BCCI, headed by the son of the Union home minister, Amit Shah before he went onto get elected as the head of the International Cricket Council. Symbolism plays a huge part in that attempt. A stadium named after Sardar Patel in Gujarat has been named after Narendra Modi. An attempt had been made to change the premier jersey of the Indian cricket team too in 2023, but was denied and shelved, fearing pushback.

Sports journalist Sharda Ugra has written extensively about this in Wisden. She wrote of the world cup hosted by India in 2023 that “BCCI treasurer Ashish Shelar called the story [of the switch to saffron] “absolutely baseless, and a work of someone’s imagination”. But three independent sources – one each from the team, the ICC and the BCCI – have confirmed the existence of an all-orange uniform, which was presented to the team as an alternative two days before the game. They had already been given a new training kit – an orange shirt and dark trousers – a week before their first fixture. When the all-orange kit arrived in the dressing-room, the players looked nonplussed, according to an insider. Here, the story split into two versions. One, out first, said the uniform was rejected because it “looks like Holland”. The other had the Indian cricketers saying to each other: “This is not on… We won’t do it… It is disrespectful to some of the members of the team.”

Only saffron had been the flag of choice for India in the RSS’s teachings and thinking. They did not fly the the national flag at their Nagpur headquarters between 1950 and 2002, preferring the saffron dhwaja/flag alone. Changes to the flag code prompted the rethink in 2002, it is reported.

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