Revealed: Interesting Story Behind Indian Cricketers' Jersey Number
While the jersey number of a cricketer does not make any difference as far as the game is concerned, it certainly holds a special meaning for the player. In many ways a number may define them, have deep intrinsic meaning, or even be a tribute to any special person or an event.
Over the years, the jersey numbers have become the second identity of the player. Recently, India fast-bowler Shardul Thakur was slammed by the fans after he donned the iconic number 10 jersey which was worn by none other than the legendary Sachin Tendulkar.
So here we are taking a look at the intriguing reasons behind the jersey numbers of some of the famous cricketers:
MS Dhoni:
Rohit Sharma : Number 45
The jersey number 7 has become synonymous with MS Dhoni in the country and there is an interesting reason behind the number, Dhoni chose the number because he was born on July 7th. Dhoni also decided to have number 7 written at his back because of his love for Manchester United legend David Beckham who used to wear the number 7 jersey.
Virat Kohli:
The India skipper has an emotional reason behind his jersey number 18. He wears that jersey because his father died on 18th December 2006 when he was 18 years old. The number 18 has been with Virat since his India U-19 days and he has continued with it.
Yuvraj Singh:
One of India’s greatest match-winners, Yuvraj Singh wears the jersey number 12 because of his birthday which is on the 12th of the 12th month, December. Another interesting thing is that he was born in sector 12 of Chandigarh.
Rohit Sharma:
According to media reports, India’s limited-overs opener was suggested to wear the jersey number 9. However, he didn’t want a single digit number before his mother picked the number 45 for him when he was playing for India U-19 in the 2006 World Cup. Moreover, 4 and 5 add up to 9 and so Rohit gladly accepted the number.
Ravichandran Ashwin’s jersey number is 99 because his favourite number is 9 and his roll number was the same digit in his school days. However, when he joined Team India and wanted to wear the jersey with that number, he could not get it because Parthiv Patel was already wearing it. As a result, he had to settle for 99.
Hardik Pandya dons the unusual 228 number jersey because 228 is his highest individual score in a cricket match. He scored 228 runs for his side Baroda in an Under-16 tournament and helped his team chase a score of above 350 from a struggling position of 23/4.
