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 by 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.
“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 by the British back to Myanmar. Sehwag tweet has gotten mixed reactions from social media users. The topic of name change erupted after the official invite sent by President Droupadi Murmu to G20 delegates as "President of Bharat" sparked a debate around India's name change. The invitation generated significant attention because, for the first time, it referred to the head of state as the "President of Bharat" in an official capacity.
