NEW DELHI: The blue jersey has been synonymous with the Indian cricket team in the shorter formats of the game. The 1992 edition was the first World Cup to be held in coloured clothing and since then the Indian team jersey has always been a shade of blue. Hence the nickname - Men in Blue.
To say that Team India's blue jersey is among the most recognised attires in sport will be an understatement.
But in the ongoing World Cup in England and Wales, Team India might be seen wearing orange jerseys with a darker shade of blue than usual in front, especially when they take on England in Birmingham on June 30. This is because of ICC's new rule, which requires all participating teams to keep two different coloured kits ready for televised ICC events, except for the hosts - England, in this case - who are allowed to retain one jersey colour for all matches. So, basically India might wear the orange uniforms when they play another team who also wear blue jerseys.
The BCCI has not released any official statement or image of the Indian cricketers in their 'alternate' kits.
News agency IANS reported that the jersey the Indian team is likely to wear in their match against England might look something like below.
An ICC release was quoted as saying, "For televised ICC events all participating teams will be required to provide for two different coloured kits, except for the host country who has preference in the choice of colour and may, if it chooses to do so, provide only one coloured kit to be worn in all matches throughout the event. In advance of the event the teams will be notified which coloured kit will be worn in each match."
ICC's new rules mean that other teams who sport blue jerseys will need to change their colours, especially for matches involving England, who don sky blue uniforms. Those teams are India, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.
But how will the fans know which team will wear which jerseys for which match? For instance what happens when India play Sri Lanka? (Both teams wear different shades of blue)
According to certain media reports, in their match against Sri Lanka on July 6, Kohli & Co will be back to their traditional blue, as India are the 'home' team for that game.
While it's not clear if it is strictly a home and away format the ICC wants to follow, with certain teams being named 'home' teams before matches, what's clear is that the ICC don't want the team colours of the two teams to clash, because sometimes it's difficult for TV viewers to tell the difference.