World Cup 2019: ICC refuses MS Dhoni to sport gloves with ‘Balidaan Badge’

The hyper-nationalist media in the country was certainly set for a furore as the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday refused to allow Mahendra Singh Dhoni to wear his controversial wicket-keeping gloves in the ongoing World Cup. The Indian wicket-keeper made the headlines for donning a pair of wicket-keeping gloves in the game against South Africa in Southampton on June 5 that bore an insignia of the armed forces as a mark of respect for the soldiers.

However, the matter had not gone down well with the international governing body which asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to replace the gloves that Dhoni wore. The Indian board and the Committee of Administrators (CoA) backed Dhoni as did the fans and a section of the media. Even Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju expressed his opinion in favour of the veteran cricketer.

The ICC said earlier that it would allow Dhoni to continue wearing the gloves bearing the “Baalidan Badge” if the BCCI and the cricketer could give a convincing reasoning. The BCCI did its part to convince the ICC but it seems the appeal has fallen on deaf ears. It was confirmed on Friday night that the ICC responded to the BCCI saying the logo that Dhoni wore on his gloves in the match against South Africa is not permitted hereafter in the tournament.

This is not the first time that Dhoni, who has a honorary position of a lieutenant colonel in the Indian Territorial Army, has expressed his adulation for the armed forces. In March, the entire Indian team had sported a military camouflage cap to pay tributes to the martyrs of the Pulwama terror attack of February 14. It was said that it was Dhoni’s idea to see all the Indian cricketers wear the cap.

Individual message or logo not permitted

On its reasoning for banning the logo that Dhoni wore, the ICC said the regulations did not permit any individual message or logo to be sported on any item(s) of clothing or equipment. Besides, it has been said that the logo also breaches the regulations in relation to what is allowed on the wicket-keeper’s gloves.