The jersey number 7 worn by legendary Indian cricketer MS Dhoni has officially been retired, BCCI reports revealed.
The decision to retire the World Cup-winning captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s jersey sparked a wave of emotions across every social media platform. Previously, Sachin Tendulkar’s jersey got the same honour from the BCCI. In simple terms, it can be said that none of the Indian cricket debutants can opt for both jersey numbers.
After three and a half years of MS Dhoni’s official retirement from international cricket, BCCI paid tribute to him. It was the World Cup 2019 Semi-Final against New Zealand in Manchester, England the world witnessed him in blues for the last time. On this day a million hearts across the globe sank in sorrow as Martin Guptill’s bullet throw sent Mahi to the pavilion.
In 2017, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) bestowed the God of Cricket, Sachin Tendulkar, with the same honour four years after he bid adieu to cricket. Indian all-rounder Shardul Thakur had been given jersey number 10 in his debut match, but later he shifted to number 54 which continues to be owned by him.
According to ICC rules, every debutant can pick a number from 1 to 100, whereas those representing the Indian cricket team can only avail limited options. Currently, 60-odd numbers are designated to the regular Indian players and those in contention, as the BCCI reports. In addition to this, the report also reveals that a recent debutant has just 30-odd numbers to choose from.
A few stories behind the jersey numbers
Present Indian opener Subhman Gill once sought the number 7 jersey during his under-19 period. As Dhoni had already been assigned that number, he switched to 77. Now he represents the nation with the same number, 77.
While making his debut for India, Yashasvi Jaiswal chose 19 for his jersey. Unfortunately, he was not provided with his want as cricketer-turned-commentator Dinesh Karthik was designated the same.
Google India pays homage to “Thala”
Lately, a few days before this big announcement from BCCI, social media was flooded with a plethora of posts praising MS Dhoni’s jersey number. Some of the fans shared images of the number 7 having the tag “Thala for a reason”. Apart from this, some associated the number 7 trend with various references such as the seven-vow ritual in a Hindu marriage, the seven wonders of the world and the seven colours of the rainbow. Amid this, Google India unsurprisingly paid tribute to the iconic man by sharing a similar post on X, formerly Twitter.
The image shared by Google India on X reflects the significance of the number seven ranging from seven days in a week to the total number of continents, seven. The heartwarming post highlights a deep message: “The message is clear. Thala for a reason”.
The origin of “Thala for a reason”
The current trend “Thala” dates back to the inauguration of the Indian Premier League in 2008 when Dhoni was associated with the team Chennai Super Kings. A deep connection began to grow between Captain Cool and the Tamil people. The ardent Chennai fans bestowed their captain Mahi with the title of “Thala”, a Tamil word that means boss.
