On Sunday, Ashish Shelar, the honorary treasurer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), addressed the speculation surrounding India's match kit for the highly anticipated ICC World Cup clash against Pakistan on October 14. The arch-rivals, India and Pakistan, are set to face off at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium.
Shelar unequivocally refuted media reports suggesting that India would be wearing an alternate kit for the game. In a statement, he stated, "We categorically dismiss the media reports that Team India will be donning an alternative match kit against Pakistan. These reports are absolutely baseless and a work of someone's imagination. The Men in Blue will sport India colours - Blue at ICC Cricket World Cup 2023”, he said.
It's worth noting that during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, India did indeed wear an alternate kit. This decision was made due to both England and India wearing blue-coloured jerseys during the tournament. As a result, Team India opted for a darker shade of blue with orange sleeves for their match against England.
Rumours regarding a potential kit change arose when the Indian team initially started the World Cup wearing a Dutch Orange training kit. However, any alteration to the match kit colour would require approval from the International Cricket Council (ICC). Historically, the ICC has only allowed such changes in cases of colour clashes between teams.
India has begun their campaign in the World Cup 2023 with a promising victory over the formidable Australian team. While Virat Kohli and KL Rahul showcased their batting prowess in the match, there were also some concerning moments. While the Australians, with Steven Smith scoring the highest no. of runs, set the target of 200 on a very spinner-friendly pitch, it was Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood who made it daunting for India’s batting order after they caused them to be 3 wickets down for just 2 runs on the scoreboard.