With MS Dhoni etching his name in the folklore of Indian cricket, headlined by numerous contributions, the BCCI has decided to retire the No.7 jersey to pay him tribute. According to reports, BCCI has notified the players in the national team, especially rookies that they don't have the option of selecting the jersey numbers associated with Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar.
Dhoni is arguably one of the renowned and influential figures in Indian cricket history, especially in the aspect of captaincy. The Ranchi-born cricketer led India to all three ICC titles under him between 2007-2013 (T20 World Cup, ODI World Cup, and Champions Trophy). He retired from international cricket in 2020, having played 90 Tests, 350 ODIs, and 98 T20Is.
A BCCI official said, as quoted by The Indian Express:
"The young players and current Indian team players have been told not to pick M S 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 added that if a player remains out of the team for a year or so, a new cricketer cannot take his jersey number. With 2 numbers already retired, a rookie player only has a few to choose out of.
Past instances in sport where jersey numbers have been retired:
Meanwhile, retiring jersey numbers of elite players is one of the oldest sporting customs. Late football great Diego Maradona used to wear jersey No.10; hence, no player Italian Serie A football club Napoli dons the same even now.
Chicago Bulls had retired Jersey no.23, belonging to Michael Jordan, who won 6 NBA titles, after the towering Basketball player bid adieu to his career. It's worth noting that Shardul Thakur's initial jersey No. was 10 before changing it to 54 after the netizens called him out for "Trying to be Sachin."
