Players and fans yesterday urged India’s cricket board to retire Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s No. 7 jersey in a tribute to the two-time Cricket World Cup winning captain.
Dhoni, 39, on Saturday called time on his 16-year-old international career with a cryptic message on Instagram that read: “From 1929hrs consider me as retired.”
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed the news in a statement, saying: “The boy from Ranchi, who made his ODI debut in 2004, changed the face of Indian cricket with his calm demeanor, sharp understanding of the game and astute leadership qualities.”
Photo: AFP
Dhoni’s legions of fans including 7.8 million Twitter followers and former teammate Dinesh Karthik said they did not want to see the number seven on the back of any other Indian cricketer’s jersey.
“I hope the @bcci retire the #7 jersey in white ball cricket Good luck with your second innings in life , I’m sure you’ll have a lot of surprises for us there too,” Karthik wrote on Twitter.
Former batsman Mohammad Kaif agreed, writing on Twitter: “Can’t imagine any one else wearing a Number 7 India jersey again.”
There is no provision to retire jerseys in cricket, unlike in football, but the BCCI unofficially retired batting great Sachin Tendulkar’s No. 10 shirt a few years after his retirement.
Dhoni, a flamboyant wicketkeeper-batsman, is India’s most successful captain, having won the World Cup, the inaugural T20 World Cup and the ICC Champions Trophy.
He quit Tests in 2014 and has not played for the national side since India’s World Cup semi-final loss against New Zealand in England last year — his 350th one day international.
He holds the record for most international matches as captain, 332, and his 195 international stumpings is also the most by any wicketkeeper.
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