Virender Sehwag urges BCCI to have ‘Bharat’ instead of ‘India’ on Indian jerseys at ICC World Cup | Cricket News

Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag has urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India to have jerseys for the Indian team playing at the upcoming ICC World Cup bearing the name Bharat instead of India.
This comes on the heels of controversy over the fact that invitations for a September 9 dinner at the Rashtrapati Bhavan during the G20 summit had referred to President Droupadi Murmu as “President of Bharat” rather than “President of India”.
“I have always believed a name should be one which instills pride in us. We are Bhartiyas, India is a name given 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.
He also gave examples of other nations who had changed their names.

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 . https://t.co/LWQjjTB98Z
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) September 5, 2023
“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 the British back to Myanmar.
And many others have gone back to their original name,” he added.
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According to a report in The Indian Express, it is widely being speculated that there is a special session of Parliament — slated for September 18-22 — where a proposal is being prepared to remove the word ‘India’ from the Constitution. The report added that there have been calls from sections of the ruling dispensation that “India, that is Bharat” be removed from Article 1 of the Constitution and only the word ‘Bharat’ be used.
Replying to comment that he should have been a Member of the Parliament, Sehwag said that his opinion was not based on political affiliation and indicated that he had turned down offers from two ‘major’ political parties over the last couple of elections.

“I am not at all interested in politics. Have been approached both major parties in the last two elections. My view is that most entertainers or sportsmen should not enter politics as most are there for their own ego and hunger for power and barely spare genuine time for people, few are exceptions but generally most only do PR. I love being involved with cricket and commentating and being a part time MP whenever convenient is not something I ever aspire for,” Sehwag added.