Dhoni’s No 7 jersey was retired to honour his contribution to Indian cricket: BCCI
New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice-president Rajeev Shukla said that the board has decided to ‘retire’ MS Dhoni’s No.7 jersey to honour his contribution to Indian cricket.
Dhoni last appeared for India in a World Cup semifinal against New Zealand in 2019. He announced his retirement on August 15, 2020, and no one has worn the No.7 jersey since.
Even Sachin Tendulkar’s No.10 has not been worn by another player since his retirement in 2013, except bowler Shardul Thakur, who chose No.10 in his ODI debut against Sri Lanka in 2017 but was harshly criticised on social media. Since then, no one has worn a jersey with the number 10 written on the back.
“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 are a phenomenon in other sports as well. Following Michael Jordan’s retirement, the Chicago Bulls retired the No. 23 jersey he wore.
Dinesh Karthik, India’s wicketkeeper whose international career overlapped with Dhoni’s, was among the first to call for the No.7 shirt to be retired after the World Cup-winning captain’s retirement in 2020. Karthik and Dhoni both played in that disastrous World Cup quarterfinal against New Zealand.
“Hope the BCCI retires the No.7 jersey in white ball cricket,” Karthik had posted back then.