The iconic No.7 jersey of former India captain MS Dhoni will no longer be available for grabs for any other Indian player. Three years after the legendary wicketkeeper-batter drew curtains on his international career, the BCCI reported has decided to retire the number donned by Dhoni throughout his career.
According to Indian Express, the Indian cricket board made this move to pay tribute to Dhoni’s contribution to the sport since making his debut in 2004. The report further stated that the members of the Indian cricket team, especially the debutants, have been conveyed that the option to have the number 7 on their jersey is no longer available.
“The young players and current Indian team players have been told not to pick M S Dhoni’s Number 7 jersey. The BCCI has decided to retire Dhoni’s T-shirt for his contribution to the game. A new player can’t get No. 7, and No. 10 was already off the list of available numbers,” a senior BCCI official was quoted as saying.
Another former cricketer who was bestowed with a similar honour is legendary Sachin Tendulkar whose No. 10 jersey was retired in 2017. As far as the ICC rules are concerned, the players are allowed to pick a number between 1 to 100 but in India, there are limited options.
“At present, 60-odd numbers are designated to the regulars in the Indian team and those in contention. So even if a player is out of the team for about a year or so, we don’t give away his number to a new player. That means a recent debutant has just 30-odd numbers to choose from,” the BCCI official further added.
Earlier this year, Yashasvi Jaiswal was keen on having No. 19 while making his India debut. Since it was already taken by veteran wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik, the youngster had to settle with No. 64.
Back in 2017, Mumbai fast bowler Shardul Thakur had to face the flak from fans over wearing the No. 10 jersey. Netizens trolled him saying, “Trying to be Sachin”. The BCCI had to intervene and Thakur switched to 54.
Other popular shirt numbers are 18 and 45, donned by Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, respectively. It won’t be a surprise if they these jerseys are folded once the superstars hang up their boots in future.
