NEW DELHI, Feb 21: 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, modelling 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 per cent 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 colour and other aspects to what was displayed on Monday.”

Neither the Indian board nor Nike would say why players were asked to display the uniforms as if they were the World Cup colours.

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