New Delhi, July 31 -- For exactly a century, Indian hockey has been synonymous with blue. From Dhyan Chand at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics to the modern-day resurgence that brought India back to the Olympic podium, the India blue jersey has been a symbol of the team. But ahead of the World Cup, to be played in the Netherlands and Belgium from August 15-30, a sudden pivot to a saffron kit has ignited a massive furore, splitting the hockey fraternity and sparking a fierce debate that reached the gates of Parliament. At the centre of the controversy is a clash between "technical" sporting arguments, proposed by Hockey India (HI), and the heavyweight of legacy, layered with accusations of political interference. HI insists the shift is purely pragmatic, saying the primary consideration was technical visibility against modern pitches. "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," HI said in a statement, adding that coaches and players suggested alternative colours. Hindustan Times verified with three players of the Indian teams whether they were consulted about the change, as HI said in its statement, to which all three said no. "I do not know whether coach sir or captain were consulted or not but we definitely weren't," said a player on condition of anonymity. HI added that jersey changes aren't unprecedented, citing temporary switches to yellow at the 2014 World Cup and sky blue at the 2018 World Cup. However, a significant thing to note is that the home colours of India have always been blue while the away colours have changed from saffron to white. However, for the World Cup next month, the primary colour is now saffron. "I saw the new jersey. Since the very beginning, India has been played in blue; before me, during my time and after me," 1975 World Cup-winning captain Ajit Pal Singh told HT. "Blue has been the pride of India. I do not understand the reasoning behind this change. What was the need? This is a vague decision. I don't approve of it." Vasudevan Baskaran, who captained India to its last Olympic gold at Moscow 1980, directly challenged HI's visibility argument. "The last two Olympics, the turf was blue, so was the Indian jersey. How was it that Harmanpreet (Singh), (Amit) Rohidas and (PR) Sreejesh did so well then? How is it that they find a technical fault in the colour of the jersey now?" Meanwhile, former Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, whose government famously stepped in to sponsor the national teams in 2018 when they were struggling for funds, launched a scathing attack. "The iconic shade of blue of the Indian hockey team is not just a colour. It is an emotion associated with the nation's sporting heritage," Patnaik said on X, pointing out that the blue is derived from the Ashoka Chakra. "Our blue jersey is to us what the iconic stripes are to Argentina and the yellow jersey is to Brazil. It is etched in our collective memory. Any change in this colour, is a crass attempt to erase our priceless sporting legacy. National symbols are meant to unite us not divide."...