Men in ‘expensive’ blue catch the eye
MIRPUR: When the India team arrived at Mumbai’s international airport to take their flight to Dhaka for the Asia Cup, they caused a stir as usual.
Once people got over the initial excitement of having witnessed the entire cricket squad together, the focus shifted to the eye-catchy jeans the Men in Blue were wearing. Apart from the similar white t-shirt, every member wore identical jeans. “Do they always wear such jeans?” was the murmur.
Navy blue and embroidered with yellowish-orange ruled patterns, they were not the kind of jeans a layman could afford.
They were in fact the California-based True Religion jeans that everyone, including the support staff, was wearing. Not that the richest board in the world would care but with a price tag of up to `20,000, the jeans were an expensive replacement for the usual tracks that the team wears during travel.
“No, they have not been sponsored by anyone. But it was decided to use the jeans as our team uniform,” revealed a team official. “Since it was a short trip (to Dhaka), we decided to try the jeans instead of the tracks we usually have.”
MONEY TO SPEND
Perhaps, the Board of Control for Cricket in India was in a mood to splurge, to celebrate the monetary gains it expects in their new position as one of the three major boards that plan to lead the International Cricket Council forward.
Touring India teams have always sported a more formal uniform, which includes the dark blue blazer with the cricket board’s emblem.
The new casual switch is perhaps A TEAM OFFICIAL
an attempt to change the image of the team, and bring about a better connect with young fans in an era where sports is also a major area for projecting the changing trends in fashion.