The launch of a new jersey ahead of a major tournament is usually accompanied with either excitement or disappointment for many. But Hockey India’s (HI) decision to change the Indian team’s official colour from the iconic blue to saffron this week, ahead of next month’s World Cup, has caused quite a stir among both former players and the public.
For a long time, Indian sports teams, especially hockey, have been synonymous with the colour blue, hence the radical switch to ditch it altogether has received a mixed response.
Former India captain Viren Rasquinha lambasted the move, labelling it ‘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 posted on X.
On Thursday afternoon, HI released a statement, clarifying that it was a technical decision, prompted by the need for better ‘on-field clarity and visibility for the players’, while playing in the blue astro turf, which has been standardised in the sport since 2012.
“The decision to change the uniform colour was based on support staff & players recommendations and detailed consultations with them. The primary consideration was technical,
“It was observed that the blue playing uniform tended to blend/merge with the blue synthetic playing surface, which is now the standard colour of international hockey pitches. This visual similarity affected on-field clarity and visibility for the players,” said HI.
HI president Dilip Tirkey told Sportstar the federation deliberated over the choice of saffron and yellow, which was India’s primary colour during the 2014 World Cup, but opted for the latter.
HI added, “Apart from addressing the technical requirement, saffron also holds deep significance as one of the colours of our National Flag, symbolising courage, sacrifice and national pride.”
Hockey is not the first Indian sport to have flirted with the shade of orange for team kits. The Indian men’s cricket team opted for a mix of orange and dark shade of blue for its away kit during the 2019 World Cup. Orange has been the Indian football team’s away colours in recent years.
Two-time Olympic bronze medallist and former India captain Ajit Pal Singh was puzzled 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?” posed Ajit Pal.
However, the current Indian men’s team skipper Harmanpreet Singh was quick to play down the criticism. “We just played a training match with the orange jersey. I think the new jersey looks good,” Harmanpreet said in a media interaction on Thursday.
Harmanpreet’s former teammate, Lalit Upadhyay, a two-time Olympic bronze medallist, backed the federation and the players’ view. “Personally, there were times where it used to feel like the blue kit used to clash with the colour of the turf. But, as players, we never spoke about it amongst ourselves over a need for a change,” Lalit told Sportstar.
Another former India defender VR Raghunath felt the decision is a ‘calculative’ call, stating that “in recent times, the blue of the turf has become darker, matching our jersey colour. Players might have felt uneasy because decision-making is often split-second and any means to claim an advantage would be welcomed by players.”
He added, “The jersey looks wonderful. It [change] doesn’t make a difference and we need to now start focussing on the World Cup.”
While Olympic stalwart PR Sreejesh felt no issue with visibility during his playing time, he stressed it was important for the federation to heed 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 the former India goalkeeper.
Published on Jul 30, 2026
