'To Honour His Contribution': Rajeev Shukla Confirms BCCI's Decision to Retire MS Dhoni's Number 7 Jersey

BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla has confirmed that the Indian cricket board has decided to retire legendary India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s No.7 jersey. The BCCI took the big decision to honour the 2011 World Cup-winning captain’s contribution to Indian cricket.

Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket in 2020 as he last played for India in 2019 in the ODI WC semi-final against New Zealand. Since his retirement, no other player has worn the No.7 shirt since then.

Earlier, the BCCI also retired Sachin Tendulkar’s iconic No.10 jersey after Shardul Thakur wore the same number in 2013 for his ODI debut against Sri Lanka in 2017. The fast-bowling all-rounder was trolled heavily on social media for wearing the iconic number jersey. Netizens bashed him saying, “Trying to be Sachin”. The BCCI had to intervene and Thakur switched to 54.

No one since then has played with a jersey with number 10 written on the back.

According to BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla, the Board took the decision on Thursday.

“He is a legendary player. His contribution to Indian as well as world cricket is immense. To honour his contribution, the decision to retire number seven has been taken by the BCCI,” Shukla told PTI.

Retiring jerseys of the greats is a phenomenon in another sports too. The Chicago Bulls retired the No.23 jersey worn by basketball legend Michael Jordan following his retirement.

India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik, whose international career coincided with Dhoni’s, was among the first ones to demand for the No.7 jersey to be retired after the World Cup winning captain’s retirement in 2020. Both Karthik and Dhoni happened to play in that ill-fated World Cup semifinal against New Zealand.

“Hope the BCCI retires the No.7 jersey in white ball cricket,” Karthik had posted back then.

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 Karthik, the youngster had to settle with No. 64.

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.