India’s hockey team goes saffron: ‘It’s tamasha, won’t be inspired to watch team’

4 min readMumbaiUpdated: Jul 30, 2026 02:08 PM IST Indian hockey team players sport the new saffron jersey. (Photo: Hockey India)Since 1928, the Indian hockey team has strutted out on the field in different shades of blue or white almost every time at a major tournament. That will change next month. When star drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh and Salima Tete lead out the men’s and women’s teams for the World Cup, starting August 15, the players will swap the iconic blue jersey that has defined the national side for decades for a striking saffron strip.The change, confirmed by Hockey India ahead of the Games, marks one of the most significant visual shifts in the team’s history. While the governing body said that the ‘primary consideration was technical’ – the blue uniform blended with the blu