Former Indian cricketer MS Dhoni iconic no 7 jersey retired by BCCI, becomes 2nd Indian after Tendulkar

New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has retired MS Dhoni’s iconic jersey number 7. This decision comes three years after Dhoni retired from international cricket. Its means that the upcoming India players won’t have the option to pick the number 7 jersey in any of the three formats of the sport.

The decision has been confirmed by the Vice-President of the board, Rajeev Shukla. Shukla told media,”This decision by the BCCI is keeping in mind the contribution of MS Dhoni in national as well as international cricket and is an honour for him. Jersey number 7 was an identity for MS Dhoni, and to prevent that brand from being diluted, this step taken by BCCI is worth appreciating.”

Previously, the BCCI bestowed a similar honour on Sachin Tendulkar when they retired his No. 10 jersey in 2017. Dhoni and the number seven are synonymous with each other and fans of the sport in India associate the jersey number seven with the former India skipper.

This practice of retiring jerseys is not uncommon in sports and serves as a way to recognise the extraordinary contributions of legendary players. Dhoni wore the number seven jersey during his playing days for India and even dons the jersey of the same number whenever he takes the field for his Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

The BCCI has informed the national team players, particularly the newcomers, about the unavailability of numbers 7 and 10, previously worn by Dhoni and Tendulkar, respectively. Notably, there is only one India player who is currently in possession of the number seven jersey – Harmanpreet Kaur. The skipper of the Indian women’s cricket team, Harmanpreet, dons the same number as Dhoni across the three formats.

Hence, it is most likely that after Harmanpreet, no other Indian player will get the opportunity to wear the number seven behind his/her. A senior Board official told the publication that new players had been prohibited from choosing these numbers to uphold the legacy of these cricketing icons.