No More MS Dhoni's No.7 Jersey In Indian Cricket As BCCI Pays Tribute To Former India Skipper

MS Dhoni’s No. 7 jersey will not be seen on any Indian cricketer in the future. BCCI has officially retired the No. 7 jersey from Indian cricket to pay tribute to MS Dhoni. The Indian Cricket Board has also conveyed the decision to youngsters and debutants.

MS Dhoni retired from international cricket in August 2020. He is considered the most influential and powerful captain to lead India. During his tenure, the wicketkeeper-batsman led the Indian Team to three ICC titles from 2007 to 2013. India won the T20 World Cup in 2007, ODI World in 2011, and Champions Trophy in 2013. Notably, Team India won their last ICC title under MS Dhoni in 2013.

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BCCI Retires MS Dhoni’s No.7 Jersey

A BCCI official told The Indian Express that BCCI has retired the no.7 jersey to pay tribute to the legend.

“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,” the official said.

In 2017, BCCI had retired Sachin Tendulkar’s no. 10 jersey to pay tribute to the batting legend. Interestingly, the official also informed that new Indian players only have 30 odd numbers to choose for their jerseys. BCCI does not give away a jersey number of a senior player to others even if he is out of the team.

“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,” the BCCI official further added.

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Notably, Indian opener Shubman Gill wished to wear the no.7 jersey while playing domestic circuit. However, he could not pick the number as it was allocated to MS Dhoni. As a result, he went ahead with no.77 and still wears the same number in the national team.

Even after his retirement, Dhoni is still active in the Indian Premier League. He led the Chennai Super Kings to their 5th title last season. In IPL 2024 too, he is set to lead the franchise one more time.