New Delhi: Legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar lashed out at a section of Indian cricket fans on the lines of disrespecting the Indian tri-colour national flag during the first Test match between India and Australia played at the Optus Stadium in Perth.
The Indian national flag comprises of saffron, white and green colours with the 24-spoked Ashoka Chakra (navy blue colour) is presented in the centre of the white patch.
However, Bharat Army, which is known to be the official supporters group of Indian sports, has designed a customised flag of the Indian tri-colour. The words ‘Bharat and ‘Army’ are printed on the Orange and Green layers, respectively.
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Gavaskar, who played 125 Test matches and 108 ODI matches in his illustrious career for India, didn’t appreciate the Bharat Army for making amendments to the Indian flag. He implored the support group to refrain from using its name on the national flag and rather design their own flag.
“I know that in India it’s not accepted. I don’t think these [fans] are really Indians. I’m not too sure how many of them have Indian passports, so they probably don’t understand the value, the relevance, the importance of the Indian flag,” Gavaskar said while doing commentary on ABC Sport during day two of the first Test in Perth.
“All Indians, including me, are very grateful for the support that they bring to the Indian cricket team wherever the Indian cricket team is playing. We are really, really thankful and grateful for that, but I would request them not to have their group’s name on the India flag.
“Design a new flag of your own. If you design a new flag of your own, I will myself wear it with great pleasure,” he added.
What is Bharat Army?
Bharat Army is a support group for the Indian sports fan started in 1999 by Rakesh Patel, who was a fan from Manchester. The group started with just four members but currently has more than one lakh followers across the globe. The group travels to every match of the Indian cricket team in different venues of the world. The group considers itself as the 12th man of the Indian team. This is very similar to the England cricket team’s support group called “The Barmy Army’.
Legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar lashed out at a section of Indian cricket fans on the lines of disrespecting the Indian tri-colour national flag during the first Test match between India and Australia played at the Optus Stadium in Perth. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
