Both Nike, the sponsor for the Indian team’s apparel and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) remained busy on Wednesday night trying to clear out a misunderstanding that emerged in the backdrop of the inauguration of the new cricket kit for our Men in Blue.

A day earlier, Nike had launched Team India’s new cricket kit at a glittering event in Mumbai where many players of the Indian cricket team walked the ramp wearing the new outfit. Nike, in their press release, had announced that “the official apparel sponsor for Team India was unveiling the national team uniform on the eve of the ICC World Cup 2007.’’

However, the International Cricket Council (ICC) had taken objection to Nike announcing the outfit as ‘official’ World Cup attire of the Indian team when the logos shown were not all those approved by the ICC for their tournament.

The truth is that while some Indian players did show off the apparel as given by the sponsor, the logos thereof would change (not the apparel) for the Cup.

In ICC events, such as the World Cup and the Champions Trophy, the kits of all teams bear the tournament’s official logo and branding on the chest. This means that, in India’s case, the Sahara logo, which is currently on the front of the shirt, will go to the leading arm, and the Nike logo, which is on the right side of the chest, will go to the non-leading arm. The logo of the BCCI, which is currently on the left side of the chest, will stay right where it is.

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