Sehwag directed his suggestion to BCCI secretary Jay Shah, proposing that the gamers don jerseys with “Bharat” inscribed on them.
“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 make sure that on this World Cup our gamers 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, could we’ve Bharat in our hearts and the gamers put on 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 got here to play within the World Cup in Bharat as Holland. In 2003, after we met them, they had been The Netherlands and proceed to be so. Burma have modified the title given by the British again to Myanmar.
“And many others have gone back to their original name,” he added in one other tweet.
It has been reported that the central authorities is contemplating altering India’s title to ‘Bharat’ within the particular session of Parliament which is scheduled from September 18 to 22.
(With PTI Inputs)
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com