Hockey Legends Unhappy With New Saffron Jersey: 'Why Choose Only This Colour?'

Published 30 July 2026 · sports

Hockey Legends Unhappy With New Saffron Jersey: 'Why Choose Only This Colour?' Published By, Last Updated: July 30, 2026, 18:28 IST India hockey captains Pargat

Hockey Legends Unhappy With New Saffron Jersey: 'Why Choose Only This Colour?' Published By, Last Updated: July 30, 2026, 18:28 IST India hockey captains Pargat Singh, Dhanraj Pillay, and Viren Rasquinha criticized Hockey India's decision to replace the iconic blue jersey with a saffron kit. Indian hockey team's old and new jerseys. (Screengrab) The decision to replace India’s iconic blue hockey jersey with a saffron primary kit for the upcoming Hockey World Cup has triggered criticism from several former India captains, with Pargat Singh, Dhanraj Pillay and Viren Rasquinha questioning both the reasoning behind the move and the break from the team’s long-standing identity. Hockey India (HI) recently unveiled the new jersey for the men’s and women’s teams ahead of the World Cup, which begins on August 15 in the Netherlands and Belgium. The governing body said the decision was based on technical feedback from players and coaches, while also highlighting saffron’s symbolic significance as one of the colours of the Indian national flag.

However, former India captain and Pargat Singh alleged that the move reflected a broader trend of ‘saffronisation’ in the country. “Everything in the country is being saffronised – education, history and now sports too. This is worrying. Sports unite people and rise above religion, caste and politics. It is unfortunate if such thinking enters sports as well," Pargat, who is also an MLA for the opposition party Congress, told PTI. Dhanraj, one of India’s greatest forwards who represented the country in 339 international matches, also said the blue jersey had become inseparable from Indian hockey’s legacy. “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," he said. The 56-year-old noted that generations of Indian greats, from the 1928 Olympic champions to Dhyan Chand and the 1980 Moscow Olympic gold medal-winning team, had all represented the country in blue.

captains reject Hockey India’s visibility explanation Hockey India has argued that the colour change was influenced by technical feedback about supposedly hindered visibility on the blue astro turf, but the explanation has found little support among former players. “I have never experienced any such issue. Even if visibility was a concern, why choose only this colour? Were there no other options?" Pargat said. He also dismissed the claim that players and coaches would have recommended such a change. “Players and coaches do not normally make such recommendations. The FIH already has our jersey colours registered. The Indian hockey team’s identity has always been the blue jersey." Dhanraj echoed the sentiment, saying the visibility argument did not stand up to scrutiny. “The team has been playing on blue turf for several years and I have never seen any problem because of the jersey colour. Is there any direction from the FIH regarding a blue jersey creating difficulties?" he asked.