India decided to keep Dhoni's number 7 jersey

 

Cricket Board of India has decided to retire Mahendra Singh Dhoni's number 7 jersey: File photo

The Board of Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to withdraw the number 7 jersey of former World Cup winning captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. In the future, no Indian cricketer will be seen wearing this jersey, said Indian Express.

A BCCI official said, "Young cricketers and current Indian team players have been asked not to take MS Dhoni's number 7 jersey. BCCI decided to retire Dhoni's t-shirt for his contribution. No new player can take number 7 and number 10 is not already in the list. BCCI decided to retire the number 10 jersey in honor of Sachin Tendulkar; However, that decision came after controversy had built up. All-rounder Shardul Thakur was trolled by Indian fans on social media after wearing the number 10 jersey in the debut series against Sri Lanka in 2017. After that BCCI decided to keep that jersey, Shardul also changed his jersey number later.

Dhoni to retire from international cricket in 2020: AFP

Former captain Dhoni, who led India to T20 World Cup, World Cup and Champions Trophy, retired from international cricket in 2020. This wicketkeeper-batsman played 538 matches for India in three editions. The 42-year-old Dhoni once again said after the final of last season that despite playing international cricket, he would play IPL for Chennai Super Kings.

The Indian Express report said that Dhoni's No. 7 jersey will be retired, but it did not specify which men it applies to. Harmanpreet Kaur, the current captain of the Indian women's team, wears the number 7 jersey.

According to the ICC rules, a player can choose any number between 1 and 100 to use in the jersey. However, more than 60 numbers are currently being used in the Indian team. A BCCI official told Indian Express, "If a player is out of the team even for a year, we don't give his number to anyone else. As a result, there are actually 30 numbers to pick for a player who has recently debuted.

Like debutant Yasaswi Jaiswal earlier this year, he wanted to opt for the number 19 jersey. But it is used by Dinesh Karthik. Jaiswal could not take Karthik's number 19 jersey as he did not play regularly for India but did not retire. In the end he chose the number 64 jersey.

There are incidents of jerseys being held up in cricket in other countries as well. Cricket Australia decided to retire the number 64 jersey in honor of Phillip Hughes who died in 2014.