Saffron jersey sparks hockey storm ahead of 2026 World Cup
A controversy has erupted over the change of jersey colour of the Indian national hockey team from traditional blue to saffron, with some former players questioning the decision and an uproar on social media. The change of colour for the men’s and women’s hockey teams comes ahead of the 2026 World Cup scheduled from August 15 to August 30.
On July 27, Hockey India released a video on social media confirming that both teams would wear saffron jerseys instead of their traditional blue kits at next month’s FIH World Cup in the Netherlands and Belgium. The move away from the traditional blue sparked a backlash on social media and was questioned by former men’s team captain Viren Rasquinha.
Hockey India (HI), the governing body for the sport, defended the move, saying the new uniform improves visibility on blue synthetic pitches. It also said saffron was selected as the base colour because it features on the country’s national flag.
Rasquinha was the first to criticise the decision and said the unveiled uniform looks “embarrassing”.
“I must say that @TheHockeyIndia has done many good things for... But this is embarrassing. The legacy and 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?,” Rasquinha, who is also the CEO of sports foundation Olympic Gold Quest, wrote on X. “My simple & humble point is on pride, identity and legacy.”
“I’m seeing many unnecessary political comments on this. I don’t want to get into any of that. My simple & humble point is on pride, identity & legacy. India is to hockey what Argentina is to Football. Will we ever see Argentina wearing Orange and White stripes as their 1st jersey?” he added.
Former India captain and coach V Baskaran too condemned the jersey colour change, saying the move will rob Indian hockey teams of their identity. “All teams have their identity in their jerseys, ours was blue but Indian hockey has lost its identity with this decision. Did Hockey India consult its executive board before taking this decision?,” Baskaran said. He rubbished HI’s explanation that the colour change was a technical decision made on the recommendations of players and support staff.
Another hockey legend Ajit Pal, captain of the 1975 World Cup-winning side, termed the decision as “strange” and questioned the need for it.
Issuing a clarification on Thursday (30 July), Hockey India stated that the decision to change the primary uniform colour was made because the previous blue kits merged visually with the blue synthetic playing surface.
“We wish to inform you that the decision to change the uniform colour was based on recommendations from, and detailed consultations with, the support staff and players. The primary consideration was technical. It was observed that the blue playing uniform tended to blend with the blue synthetic playing surface, which is now the standard colour for international hockey pitches. This visual similarity affected on-field clarity and visibility for the players,” Hockey India said in a statement.
“It may also be noted that changes to jersey colours are not unprecedented in Indian hockey. From time to time, the national team’s playing kit has been modified to meet functional and other requirements. For instance, during the 2014 FIH Hockey World Cup, the team’s jersey was changed to yellow, and during the 2018 FIH Hockey World Cup, it was changed to sky blue with a completely different design,” the statement added.
