Amid reports of MS Dhoni’s jersey number being retired by the BCCI, the organisation’s vice president, Rajeev Shukla, has come out and confirmed the rumors. Mr. Shukla, who is also a member of the Rajya Sabha, confirmed the news outside of the Indian parliament and gave the reason behind BCCI’s decision to retire Dhoni’s number 7 jersey.
Mr. Shukla said that this decision made by the BCCI is taken to honour the 2-time World Cup-winning captain. He further added that the former Indian skipper and his jersey number are a brand, and the BCCI wishes to keep them intact.
“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.” The BCCI VP said this to ANI.
According to a previous report by the Indian Express, a senior BCCI official said, “The young players and current Indian team players have been told not to pick M S 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.”
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Other Instances of Retired Numbers in Cricket
Apart from MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar, there are a couple more numbers that are retired from cricket. Following the death of former Australian batsman Phillip Hughes, Cricket Australia retired his ODI jersey No. 64 in remembrance. More recently, the Cricket Association of Nepal retired former skipper Paras Khadka’s jersey No. 77 after he bid adieu to the game in 2021.
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