Cricket has recently been riddled with players being reprimanded by the International Cricket Council for statements that they deem “political”. ICC has fined and banned players for praying or wearing signs representing conflict, like when England cricket team member Moeen Ali was banned for wearing pro-Palestine wristbands during a match. But it seems that the Indians can’t just digest when the same fines and bans are imposed on their nationalism.
MS Dhoni, Indian wicketkeeper and former captain, has been warned by ICC against wearing the gloves which have an Indian Army insignia printed on them
In his recent matches, the Indian cricketer, MS Dhoni has been using a set of green gloves which have a ‘Balidan badge’ printed on it. The badge falls into the category of armed insignia thus the cricketer has been warned to NOT wear it again. Upon receiving the warning by ICC, BCCI has tried to send in a formal request and have argued that the badge is a non-commercial logo and ICC rules do not explicitly mention the way to deal with such logos.
Previously, Indian cricket team wore army caps to pay a tribute to the armed forces of their country and now there’s more to it.
Since then, the Indian media and the Indian awaam are adamant to convince Dhoni to keep playing with the Balidan badge
Indian media has stated that this gesture by Dhoni meant a lot to the Indians which somehow allows him to bypass ICC rules?
They have been arguing that the insignia is neither religious and nor political thus the ICC should allow Dhoni to wear the gloves with the Indian Army insignia.
Indians have been undermining international institutions like ICC by stating that this international body should just go to hell
#Dhonikeeptheglove was trending on Twitter and Indians reminded Dhoni that he’s a soldier first
Like WTF?
A few even mentioned that the gloves and Dhoni always end up making history
They stated that ICC was involving the cricketer into unnecessary controversy and they ALL stand with Dhoni
Indians have also come up with comparisons of their own. They have been asserting that if Muslim teams are allowed to pray in a cricket field then Dhoni should also be allowed to wear a military badge
A quick fact for all the people who have been raising this point: praying is part of someone’s fundamental beliefs, not an act of displaying religious or political symbols while playing a match.
People from all over the world have been criticizing Indians and are stating that the rules are meant to be adhered to or else the things can get messy
Even Fawad Chaudhry weighed in and explained that Dhoni was not on some military mission instead he was there to play for an international tournament
Thankfully, despite the Indian pressure, the request by BCCI was turned down by ICC and MS Dhoni is officially not allowed to wear those gloves in future matches anymore
ICC on MS Dhoni's gloves:
"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." pic.twitter.com/jEueTGcGSK
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) June 7, 2019
And boy oh boy, Indians are pissed with that decision
@ICC instead of focussing on @dhoni gloves ,you should focus on standard of umpiring..it is a international world cup tournament #CWC19 and not the gully cricket..
— AMIT GUPTA (@AMITGUP85403596) June 7, 2019
https://twitter.com/tary_singh/status/1137133279847636999
They’re especially comparing with England’s cricket team wearing what they’re claiming also as military symbols
Dear @ICC
English cricketers can wear the poppy badge to commemorate their soldier's sacrifice then why can't Dhoni wear a badge to commemorate Indian soldier's sacrifice?#DhoniKeepTheGlove#IndiaWithDhoni pic.twitter.com/ttyYGHszhi— Pinakin Rajgor (@pinakinrajgor) June 7, 2019
https://twitter.com/vinay_47/status/1137132812094468096
So, what’s your take on the issue? Let us know in the comments below.
