NEW DELHI, 22 February 2007 — India’s cricketers were on Tuesday ordered to discard their new World Cup uniforms, 24 hours after they paraded the specially designed kit with much fanfare.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) informed the Indian board that only uniforms approved and supplied by the sport’s world governing body can be worn at the World Cup in the Caribbean.

The ICC missive came after newspapers on Tuesday splashed pictures of Indian players, led by captain Rahul Dravid, modeling light blue uniforms designed by Team India’s official supplier Nike in Mumbai on Monday. US-based sportswear giant Nike, which is contracted to kit out the Indian team, had boasted the new uniforms were 15 percent lighter and had sweat-absorbing features to keep the body cool.

But Indian cricket official Ratnakar Shetty said the new uniforms cannot be worn at the World Cup. “Players can only wear clothing approved by the ICC at the World Cup,” said Shetty. “The ICC clothing will be more or less similar in color and other aspects to what was displayed on Monday.” Neither the Indian board, or Nike, would say why players were asked to display the uniforms as if they were the World Cup colors.

In 2005, Nike signed a $43 million contract with the Indian board to outfit the national team for five years.

Sobers Confident Australia

Will Recover Form

In Mumbai, West Indies great Garfield Sobers said yesterday he was confident Australia would bounce back from their recent string of losses and make a strong title defense at next month’s World Cup in the Caribbean.

The world champions were whitewashed 3-0 in the one-day series against hosts New Zealand which finished on Tuesday, having only just lost 2-0 to England at home in the finals of a triangular tournament. The three-time winners have also been hit by injuries.

“I think they will now realize what they have to do and they will get it right by the time they arrive in the Caribbean,” Sobers told reporters during a visit to India.

“Australia is always a force to reckon with. (But) I think they should have waited until after the World Cup to play the series,” he said referring to the Chappell-Hadlee series with New Zealand.

The 70-year-old Sobers said West Indies, winners in 1975 and 1979, were also serious contenders for the tournament, which starts on March 13.

“If you had asked me three years ago, I’d have said West Indies definitely did not have a chance,” he said.

“But in the last year or so, West Indies seem to have turned the corner. And playing at home is going to give them a little bit of advantage.” He said former champions India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka along with top-ranked one-day team South Africa had an equal chance of winning the World Cup.