Only one Thala & One Jersey No: 7 - BCCI’s New Decision!

The prestigious Ashes series between England and Australia will commence on August 1 which will also embark the journey of Test players wearing Jerseys with numbers. The initiative from ICC is to popularise Test Cricket as well as to create a better connect with the players among the audience.

On the Indian front, Virat Kohli is expected to wear No: 18 and Vice-Captain Rohit would probably wear No: 45. Similarly, other players are also expected to wear their respective ODI and T20 jersey numbers. Since MSD will not be playing the West Indies series, there was a dilemma as to who will be assigned Jersey No: 7. It is also a known fact that Dhoni retired from Test Cricket in 2014.

According to the NDTV report, a senior BCCI official was quoted as saying to PTI that “  Since MS is no longer playing Test cricket, jersey No.7 is available but there is very little chance that any of the players will wear it”. He has further added, “People relate jersey No. 7 with MS. The consignment of numbered jerseys will only arrive in Caribbean only after ODI series,"

Previously Indian pacer Shraddul Thakur wore the popular Sachin Tendulkar’s Jersey No: 10 and got trolled by fans. Therefore, No: 10 was declared “unofficially retired” by BCCI to save the number only for the legend. Therefore, it is unlikely that BCCI will assign No:7 to any other player and it may not be worn by any other Indian cricketer.