The Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP) objected to the use of the saffron-coloured jersey, referring it to be the colour of the ruling BJP government. Tharoor is here to make a couple of speeches at the Bradford Literary Festival
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor sports a saffron waist coat at the India v England tie in Birmingham yesterday. Pic/Harit N Joshi
Birmingham: Amidst the controversy back in India over the saffron jersey that Virat Kohli & Co sported as part of their away kit against England during yesterday's World Cup match, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor found nothing controversial about it.
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The Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP) objected to the use of the saffron-coloured jersey, referring it to be the colour of the ruling BJP government. Tharoor is here to make a couple of speeches at the Bradford Literary Festival.
Supporting saffron
"As you can see, even I am wearing one too," he said, chatting with mid-day from the hospitality stand. "There was a saffron stripe in our Blue jersey anyway. So, they simply made saffron the prominent thing, that's all. It is one of the colours from our national flag, so I don't know what the controversy should be all about. I am also wearing saffron in solidarity with my team.
"The rule is very simple…if both, the host and visiting team have the same [jersey] colour, then to avoid the confusion for the TV viewers, the visitors have to have a different colour. So, that means if England come to India, they will have to change their colour and we will retain our Blue jersey,"
said Tharoor.
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Tharoor, a cricket buff, said that he was able to come for the match as it was on a weekend and Parliament duty comes first. "To be honest, I had no intention of making it for the match. But I had a couple of speeches yesterday [Saturday] in Bradford, so I made the speeches and I came here for the match," he said.
Back to Parliament
"Tonight, I will fly back for Parliament on Monday. When the Parliament is in session, there is no question of watching the entire World Cup. I will watch the final on a big screen somewhere," he said.
Tharoor was glad with Team India's professional approach in all aspects. "India are a very professional outfit. The most visible evidence of this is fielding which is a notch above any other team in the world. Possibly, the Australians come close, but they [India] are an outstanding fielding side. The fast bowling has changed so much from my childhood. The spinners can come into their own if they have helpful conditions. Kuldeep [Yadav] has not had a good World Cup because he did not get the kind of surfaces for his bowling. Today, I am glad, he got the first wicket [of Jason Roy]. He needs that encouragement," said Tharoor.
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