Players and fans Sunday urged India’s cricket board to retire Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s number seven jersey in a tribute to the two-time World Cup winning captain.
Dhoni, 39, called
time on his 16-year-old international career Saturday with a cryptic message on
his Instagram post that read “From 1929hrs consider me as retired”.
The Board of
Control for Cricket in India confirmed the news in a statement, saying: “The
boy from Ranchi, who made his ODI debut in 2004, changed the face of Indian
cricket with his calm demeanour, sharp understanding of the game and astute
leadership qualities.”
Dhoni’s legions of
fans including 7.8 million Twitter followers and former teammate Dinesh Karthik
said they did not want to see 7 on the back of any other Indian cricketer’s jersey.
“I hope the @bcci
retire the #7 jersey in white ball cricket Good luck with your second innings
in life , I’m sure you’ll have a lot of surprises for us there too,” Karthik, a
wicketkeeper-batsman, tweeted.
Former batsman
Mohammad Kaif agreed, writing on Twitter: “Can’t imagine any one else wearing a
Number 7 India jersey again.”
There is no
provision to retire jerseys in cricket, unlike in football.
But the BCCI
unofficially retired batting great Sachin Tendulkar’s number 10 shirt a few
years after his retirement.
Dhoni, a flamboyant
wicketkeeper-batsman who led India to win the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in
2007 and lifted the 50-over showpiece event in 2011, was born on July 7.
He is a
self-confessed fan of Portuguese football megastar Cristiano Ronaldo, who also
wears a famous number seven jersey.
Glittering career
“@BCCI should
retire “Jersey Number 7” as a Tribute to Legend MS Dhoni,” a fan wrote on
Twitter.
Another fan urged
social media users to start trending “#RetireJersey7” as “Jersey number 7 was
not just a number but an emotion the country is going to miss”.
Dhoni, dubbed ‘Captain
Cool’ because of his unflappable style, will continue to lead his team Chennai
Super Kings in the Indian Premier League starting in the United Arab Emirates
next month.
Dhoni quit Tests in 2014 and has not played for the national side since India’s World Cup semi-final loss against New Zealand in England last year— his 350th one-day international.
Cricketers from
across the globe and Indian media paid tribute to the glittering career of
Dhoni, who was fondly called ‘Mahi’ by his teammates.
The Times of India
newspaper splashed across its front page: “The end of an era: Dhoni calls it a
day, Mahi way.”
“Welcome to the
retirement club, MSD! What a magical career!,” former England batsman Kevin
Pietersen tweeted.
Australian opener
David Warner wrote: “Congrats @msdhoni on a fantastic career, he is one of the
coolest guys I’ve played against on the park.”
“One of the true
legends of Indian cricket and one of the greatest captains, congratulations on
a great career MS Dhoni! All the best for your future,” former Pakistan skipper
Shahid Afridi added on social media.