BCCI 'retires' Dhoni's No. 7 jersey

New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to 'retire' World Cup-winning captain M S Dhoni's No.7 jersey to honour his rich contribution to Indian cricket.

The iconic Indian captain last played for the country in the 2019 World Cup semifinal against New Zealand. He announced his retirement on August 15, 2020, and no other player has worn the No.7 shirt since then.

The great Sachin Tendulkar's No.10 has not been worn any other player since his retirement in 2013 except pacer Shardul Thakur, who had opted for No.10 on his ODI debut against Sri Lanka in 2017 but was trolled heavily on social media.

No one since then has played with a jersey with No. 10 written on the back.

According to BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla, the Board took the decision on Thursday.

"He is a legendary player. His contribution to Indian as well as world cricket is immense. To honour his contribution, the decision to retire number seven has been taken by the BCCI," Shukla said.

Retiring jerseys of the greats is a phenomenon in another sports too. The Chicago Bulls retired the No.23 jersey worn by basketball legend Michael Jordan following his retirement.

Indian wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik, whose international career coincided with Dhoni's, was among the first ones to demand for the No.7 jersey to be retired after Dhoni's retirement in 2020. Both Karthik and Dhoni played in the semifinal loss to New Zealand.

"Hope the BCCI retires the No.7 jersey in white ball cricket," Karthik had posted back then.