5 times a cricket team retired a jersey number ft. MS Dhoni
The BCCI made the headlines recently with its decision to retire the number seven jersey worn by Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
The former captain, who hails from Ranchi, Jharkhand, is one of the most influential cricketers to have played the game.
His unorthodox technique irked purists when he first came into the international stage but they became his fans by the time he retired.
Dhoni's wicket-keeping and batting skills were on par with his leadership qualities, with which he led India to three major trophies in white-ball cricket.
Although he has retired from international cricket, the 42-year-old continues to ply his trade in the Indian Premier League for the Chennai Super Kings.
This decision was not the first time a cricket board has chosen to retire a jersey number. In this listicle, we bring to you five instances in which cricket boards chose to do so:
#1 Phillip Hughes - 64
Perhaps the most tragic of all in this list is the number 64 jersey which was retired by Cricket Australia in honor of the late Phillip Hughes.
The southpaw was struck on the head by a bouncer from New South Wales' Sean Abbott in a Sheffield Shield game in 2014 and succumbed to his injuries.
Hughes was one of the most promising batters Australia had seen in the recent past, and in his honor, the cricket board decided to retire his jersey.
It has been nine years since Hughes left us, and he is missed dearly.
#2 Mahendra Singh Dhoni - 7
The BCCI, of course, was the latest among all cricket boards to retire the jersey number seven worn by former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Dhoni, as is known, has won the 20-over and 50-over World Cups for India along with an ICC Champions Trophy.
He is by far the most successful captain the country has seen in all formats of the game.
His leadership skills were on par with his phenomenal batting and wicketkeeping abilities as well, and there could not have been a better cricketer to have been honored this way.
#3 Sachin Tendulkar - 10
Dhoni's is not the first jersey that the BCCI has decided to retire. In 2017, it grabbed the headlines for doing the same to Sachin Tendulkar's No. 10 as well.
Tendulkar is perhaps the greatest batter to have walked on earth due to his phenomenal record of having scored a hundred centuries in international cricket.
#4 Daniel Vettori - 11
In 2019, New Zealand Cricket made the decision to retire the jersey No. 11 worn by the legendary Daniel Vettori.
Vettori remains one of the finest left-arm orthodox spinners to have played this game, and one appreciates his skills even further when coming face-to-face with the fact that he wore spectacles throughout his career.
Vettori played in 291 ODIs for the BlackCaps, picking up 297 wickets. A more than decent batter, the southpaw also amassed 2253 runs in them.
He is also one of just three players ever to achieve the double of over 300 wickets and over 4000 runs in Tests – he has 362 wickets and 4531 runs in the longest format of the game.
#5 Brendon McCullum - 42
Brendon McCullum is another Kiwi cricketer whose jersey has been retired by his country's board.
McCullum wore the number 42 on his back and New Zealand chose to retire that number in his honor.
For those not aware, McCullum, also known as 'Baz', was one of the most influential captains New Zealand have had in the past, with his new-found approach to be proactive and aggressive even in red-ball cricket.
He has also reinvented himself as England's red-ball coach and found fame across the world with his 'Bazball' brand of cricket that the team is playing.