The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) made a decision regarding MS Dhoni’s jersey as they are all set to retire the number in honour of the legendary cricketer. The former India captain guided India to all three white-ball ICC trophies while wearing the No. 7 jersey as well.
Notably, it will become the second jersey number to be retired after Sachin Tendulkar’s iconic No. 10 jersey. The batting legend’s jersey number ceased to be available from 2017 onwards. However, according to a report by the Indian Express, the BCCI has informed the Indian team players as well as the debutants that numbers 7 and 10 are not available by any means as well.
“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,” said a senior board official.
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MS Dhoni has also revealed in the past that he chose the No. 7 for his jersey just because it was his birthdate (July 7), denying the theories that suggested that it was his lucky number.
“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,” said a BCCI official.
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Meanwhile, the youngsters want to have iconic numbers and several of them are taken by senior members as well. While Yashasvi Jaiswal, who made his international debut this year, wanted the No. 19 jersey, Shubman Gill also reportedly wanted to sport No. 7 on his jersey as well. But, No. 19 is assigned to Dinesh Karthik and Gill has to stay happy with No. 77 instead.
Meanwhile, Mumbai cricketer Shardul Thakur once donned the No. 10 jersey which was available for a brief after Sachin Tendulkar’s retirement in 2013. However, following the BCCI’s decision to retire the number once and for all, he had to switch on to No. 54 as well.
