HC Rejects Plea Against BCCI Team Being Called ‘Team India’

On October 8, 2025, the Delhi High Court dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking to restrain Prasar Bharti from referring to the cricket team of the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) as “Team India” or the “Indian National Team”, terming the plea a sheer wastage of time.[1]

The petitioner had argued that no private body should be portrayed as a national team without statutory recognition. The PIL objected to Prasar Bharati platforms such as Doordarshan and All India Radio describing the BCCI-selected team as “Team India” or the “Indian National Team,” and to the use of the National Flag, claiming it implicitly conferred national status on a private association. It was contended that this amounted to misrepresentation and potentially violated the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950, and the Flag Code of India, 2002.

The Court, however, opined that the basis of the PIL was fundamentally flawed. It reiterated that the right to fly the National Flag freely with respect and dignity is a fundamental right under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. It said that any citizen or institution that flew the National Flag within the confines of what was held in Union of India v. Naveen Jindal, (2004) 2 SCC 510, including BCCI, could not be questioned.

The Court acknowledged that the BCCI is not a “State” or a “Statutory Body” within the meaning of Article 12. Cricket was also not one of the games identified for support by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports under the Scheme of Assistance to National Sports Federations (NSFs). Nonetheless, it stated that the team selected by the BCCI may not be a team selected by the Government or any of its statutory bodies or authorities, and that by itself would not mean that the team so selected does not represent India as a country in the international sphere.

It was further observed that players selected by the BCCI hail from across India. The team reflected the nation’s unity and diversity and also espoused the collective emotion of the country when competing internationally. In this context, the Court noted that the team representing India may be coined as “Team India” or the “Indian National Team.” The Court concluded that the BCCI had not usurped the concept of a national team; rather, its team “irrefutably represents the whole of India.”

[1] Reepak Kansal v. Union of India and Ors. (W.P.(C) 15335/2025)