Ex-India captain blasts saffron jersey for Hockey World Cup: This is embarrassing

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”.