BCCI loses verified status on Twitter after changing display picture to Tricolour

New Delhi: In a recent turn of events, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and prominent cricket commentator Aakash Chopra have lost their verified blue ticks on Twitter. This happened shortly after they changed their profile pictures to the tricolour, India’s national flag.

Both BCCI and Aakash Chopra made this change to show support for the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of India’s 77th Independence Day. BCCI, in solidarity, updated its profile image to proudly feature the tricolour.

However, Twitter has a policy that mandates verified accounts to use real names and display authentic photographs. BCCI’s verified account was under the name “BCCI” and had the image of the Indian cricket team logo. Once the BCCI switched to the tricolour image, its verified status was deactivated.

Twitter’s management, in line with its new criteria, is set to review BCCI’s profile. If the profile meets all the required criteria, the blue tick will be reinstated. Interestingly, as part of the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign, Prime Minister Modi also changed his profile picture to the Indian tricolour. Nevertheless, his verified status remained unaffected.

Previously, the BCCI’s Twitter account held a blue verified tick. However, after Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter for $44 billion, the platform’s policies underwent changes. The new guidelines assign gold ticks to certified or official companies.