Virender Sehwag urges BCCI to have 'Bharat' written on players' World Cup jersey instead of India

Virender Sehwag

Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag on Tuesday urged the BCCI to have "Bharat", instead of India, inscribed on the jerseys of the national team players in the upcoming ODI World Cup.

Sehwag tagged BCCI secretary Jay Shah and suggested that the players wear a jersey with Bharat written on it.

"I have always believed a name should be one which instills pride in us. We are Bhartiyas, India is a name given by the British and it has been long overdue to get our original name 'Bharat' back officially.

"I urge the BCCI (secretary) Jay Shah to ensure that in this World Cup our players have Bharat on our chest," Sehwag posted on X.

In another post, he wrote, "Team India nahin #TeamBharat. This World Cup as we cheer for Kohli , Rohit , Bumrah, Jaddu, may we have Bharat in our hearts and the players wear jersey which has "Bharat" @JayShah." Sehwag's comments came on the heels of controversy over the Rashtrapati Bhavan sending out invites for a G20 dinner on September 9 in the name of 'President of Bharat' instead of the usual 'President of India'.

Several political figures waded into the issue after it became public.

Sehwag, a swashbuckling opener of his time, also cited examples of other nations who had changed their names.

"In the 1996 World Cup, Netherlands came to play in the World Cup in Bharat as Holland. In 2003, when we met them, they were The Netherlands and continue to be so. Burma have changed the name given by the British back to Myanmar.

"And many others have gone back to their original name," he added in another tweet.

It has been reported that the central government is considering changing India's name to 'Bharat' in the special session of Parliament which is scheduled from September 18 to 22.