LONDON: It has now been confirmed that MS Dhoni will wear ‘different type of gloves’ against Australia at The Oval after warning from the International Cricket Council.
The ESPNcricinfo reported Sunday that ‘MS Dhoni will wear different type of glove today’.
MS Dhoni, the former Indian captain and veteran stumper, triggered a controversy after his move to wear military insignia on his wicket-keeping gloves in the opening match against South Africa on June 05.
Dhoni’s gloves had the symbol of regimental dagger insignia of the Indian Para Special Forces. The “Balidaan Badge” or the Army insignia was spotted on his gloves as TV replays showed him stumping Andile Phehlukwayo in the 40th over of the innings.
The Indian cricket Board (BCCI) tried to convince ICC to allow Dhoni to keep wearing the military insignia on his wicketkeeping gloves but the game’s governing body refused to budge.
The ICC responded by saying that Dhoni will have to remove the military insignia from his wicket-keeping gloves as its against regulations that govern ICC events.
It told the BCCI that the logo displayed by Dhoni in the previous match is not permitted to be worn on his wicket-keeping gloves at the World Cup 2019.
“The regulations for ICC events do not permit any individual message or logo to be displayed on any items of clothing or equipment. In addition to this, the logo also breaches the regulations in relation to what is permitted on wicketkeeper gloves,” the ICC said in a statement.
When asked to comment on whether Dhoni has been told (by India) not to wear the military insignia on his wicket-keeping gloves during Sunday’s game, Indian vice captain Rohit Sharma refused to make any comment on the issue. “I have no idea about it, honestly. I’m not the captain so I don’t know anything about it,” he told reporters Saturday.
Support at home
At a time when nationalist sentiment is on a high in India, there is a lot of support for Dhoni. In fact most Indians, it seems, want Dhoni to keep wearing the military insignia on his wicketkeeping gloves in the World Cup.
The outright public back home support could persuade the BCCI to push its weight behind Dhoni and see how the ICC responds to it.
