Saffron is proud Indian colour, Tharoor on Team India’s jersey

A new ICC rule required that when two teams had jerseys with the same colour, the host country’s team does not need to change its outfit, he said. The other team must, however, change its outfit. So, India chose a uniform of saffron and blue, he added.

“So, I wore a saffron jacket with a slightly blue pocket handkerchief and that was out of support for (Indian team) them (in the match against England),” he said.

The orange colour in the Indian team’s official uniform had led to an outcry from some Congress and Samajwadi Party leaders who alleged it was a bid aimed at “saffronisation,” drawing ridicule from the BJP which dubbed their reaction as “myopic and reactionary.” The Congress MP from Kerala said, “It (saffron) is a very proud Indian colour and it is one of the three colours in the Indian flag...so happy to wear it.”

He said he could watch only two matches because of the Parliamentary session. In the recent match with England, Indian cricketers had sported an orange-blue jersey.