The Indian cricket team has drawn ire for “politicising the gentleman’s game” after they wore army caps in third ODI against Australia.
The idea to sport the olive-and-black caps bearing the BCCI's logo came from former Indian cricket captain and current player Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
"It's a special cap," Indian captain Virat Kohli said before the third in a five-match one-day series with Australia. "This is to pay respect to the martyrs ... and their families."
He said all the players would donate their fees from the match to a national defence fund to help out the families of defence personnel who die on duty. Kohli also urged all Indians to contribute to the fund.
However, this didn’t sit well with many people as Indian cricketers have received backlash for "politicising the gentleman's game".
International Cricket Council (ICC) has also been urged to take action against India with Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry saying that the Indian cricket team has politicised the game.
Taking to the Twitter, Chaudhry said that “It’s just not Cricket,” adding that by wearing the caps, the Indian team had politicised the Gentleman's Game. India were beaten in the match by 32 runs, with opener Usman Khawaja's maiden ODI century and incisive bowling helping Australia.
The minister urged the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to lodge a formal protest against India with the sport's world governing body.
And if the Indian team does not stop wearing the caps, the Pakistan team "should [also] wear black bands to remind The World about Indian atrocities in [occupied] Kashmir", Chaudhry wrote.
Social media users were of similar views with one saying that the Indian team has also violated ICC's code of conduct.
Some people also called out ICC for being “hypocritical” as one user pointed out that “when Moeen Ali worn Gaza bracelet, ICC warned him not to repeat this in future.”
Then he questioned: why ICC is not looking into this?
Journalist Owais Tohid also criticised the move, saying that "it's sad to see war hysteria in Indian cricket team with great players like Dohni and Kohli leading it. Millions of young players of subcontinent idealise such stars. Heroes shouldn’t act like losers.. they should learn a lesson from Sidhu."
The idea to sport the olive-and-black caps bearing the BCCI's logo came from former Indian cricket captain and current player Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
"It's a special cap," Indian captain Virat Kohli said before the third in a five-match one-day series with Australia. "This is to pay respect to the martyrs ... and their families."
He said all the players would donate their fees from the match to a national defence fund to help out the families of defence personnel who die on duty. Kohli also urged all Indians to contribute to the fund.
However, this didn’t sit well with many people as Indian cricketers have received backlash for "politicising the gentleman's game".
International Cricket Council (ICC) has also been urged to take action against India with Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry saying that the Indian cricket team has politicised the game.
Taking to the Twitter, Chaudhry said that “It’s just not Cricket,” adding that by wearing the caps, the Indian team had politicised the Gentleman's Game. India were beaten in the match by 32 runs, with opener Usman Khawaja's maiden ODI century and incisive bowling helping Australia.
The minister urged the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to lodge a formal protest against India with the sport's world governing body.
And if the Indian team does not stop wearing the caps, the Pakistan team "should [also] wear black bands to remind The World about Indian atrocities in [occupied] Kashmir", Chaudhry wrote.
Social media users were of similar views with one saying that the Indian team has also violated ICC's code of conduct.
Some people also called out ICC for being “hypocritical” as one user pointed out that “when Moeen Ali worn Gaza bracelet, ICC warned him not to repeat this in future.”
Then he questioned: why ICC is not looking into this?
Journalist Owais Tohid also criticised the move, saying that "it's sad to see war hysteria in Indian cricket team with great players like Dohni and Kohli leading it. Millions of young players of subcontinent idealise such stars. Heroes shouldn’t act like losers.. they should learn a lesson from Sidhu."