‘Gautam Gambhir aaj sabse jyaada dukhi hoga’ – Fans react as Indian Cricket Board retires MS Dhoni ‘s iconic number 7 jersey

In respect to the iconic cricketer MS Dhoni, who donned the Number 7 jersey for the Indian men’s cricket team for 16 years, the Indian Cricket Board (ICB) has chosen to retire the jersey. Dhoni is known as ‘Thala’ in Chennai and has last represented India in 2019. He officially retired from international cricket in August 2020. This tribute of retiring the Number 7 jersey comes three years after his retirement. The Board has finally acknowledged the significant contributions and legacy of the cricketing legend.

Earlier, Dhoni’s Number 7 jersey retirement, the ICB had already retired cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar’s Number 10 jersey in 2017. This decision came after Shardul Thakur faced significant criticism for wearing it in a match, as fans strongly associated the number 10 with Tendulkar. The sentiment was that these jersey numbers had attained iconic status, making it challenging for subsequent players to bear the unnecessary pressure of matching the standards set by their legendary predecessors.

As per The Indian Express, ICB has informed young and current players that the Number 7 jersey, worn by MS Dhoni, is no longer available for selection.

“The young players and current Indian team players have been told not to pick MS 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,” Senior Board official told the newspaper.

Shubman Gill wears number seven in Indian Premier League

The Apex Cricket Council (ACC) permits cricketers to choose any number froms 1 to 100 for the back of their jerseys. Furthermore, when selecting a newcomer for the national team, the authorities request the individual to specify their preferred jersey number. If the player’s chosen number is available, the authorities allocate it to them.For example, in the U19 World Cup in 2018, Shubman Gill desired the number 7 but since it was unavailable, he opted for two 7s, resulting in 77 on both his India and Gujarat Titans (GT) jerseys.

“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 ICB official.

 Let us look at how Twitter has reacted to this news;

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