No dagger insignia, Dhoni wears gloves without logo
London, June 9
Mahendra Singh Dhoni decided to obey the ICC diktat as he removed the dagger insignia from his green wicketkeeping gloves during their World Cup game against Australia. Dhoni wore the gloves with military dagger insignia against South Africa, which evoked mixed reactions, and ICC requested BCCI to ask the former skipper to get it removed as it amounts violation of sporting equipment regulations.
Dhoni wore green coloured gloves on Sunday but both the SG logo (manufacturer) and the dagger insignia were removed, saving BCCI from an embarrassing situation. Though it could not be verified if it was the same pair or a new one. It was learnt that the team was behind their senior-most player on the issue. “You will see tomorrow,” was all Rohit Sharma said at the pre-match presser. It was learnt that an influential former BCCI president, who does not shares a cordial relationship with the Committee of Administrators, had asked him to go ahead as the maximum penalty would have been demerit points. But BCCI CEO Rahul Johri on Saturday explained that after BCCI had agreed to pay heed to ICC’s rules and regulations, it wouldn’t be nice to break it. The rule states that no personal messages are allowed on apparel or sporting gears and even Chris Gayle wasn’t allowed to use the Universe Boss logo on his bat for the same reason.
Fans flaunt Balidaan badge at The Oval
A section of the Indian fans at The Oval flaunted the Balidaan badge during the marquee clash. A fan dressed in the Indian Tricolour was seen holding a banner with the badge sketched in brown on top against a black background. As per the ICC regulations, Dhoni would have been reprimanded if he had sported the Army insignia on his gloves on Sunday. The second offence would attract a fine of 25 per cent of the match fee. The third offence would mean 50 per cent fine of the fee, and the fourth offence would see the player losing 75 per cent of his match fee. All of this, within a span of 12 months. — Agencies
