Shardul Thakur explains why he chose Tendulkar's No.10 jersey
What’s the story?
Made famous by Sachin Tendulkar, the iconic No.10 jersey holds a special place in Indian cricket, so much so that the number was retired by the Mumbai Indians franchise after a campaign by its online fans in 2013.
The 25-year-old Shardul Thakur, who was seen wearing the jersey on his debut in the fourth ODI of the ongoing India-Sri Lanka , has disclosed why he chose the celebrated jersey, citing numerology as the reason behind move that received a lot of flak on social media.
In case you didn’t know…
A follower of numerology, Tendulkar played with No.10 for a good part of his career, especially in the latter half. Before donning ten, Tendulkar also used to adorn No.99 on his back, the highest number possible on a jersey.
After recovering from a serious tennis elbow problem in 2004, Sachin returned to the Indian team set-up the very next year, playing against Pakistan and Sri Lanka as he made his way back to top form. Before the series, Sachin’s brother Ajit approached famed astrologer Bejan Daruwalla, who suggested the Indian batsman to wear No.33.
Later on, towards the 2007 World Cup, he switched back to the old jersey and played with the same number until his retirement in 2012.
The heart of the matter
While numbers on cricketing jerseys do not hold as much significance as, perhaps, football ones, Sachin holds a special place in Indian cricket, the reason why Mumbai Indians, the IPL side the 44-year-old played for, decided to retire the jersey in 2013, the year he played his last game for them.
However, Sachin’s die-hard fans were left fuming when Shardul Thakur, who made his debut for the Indian team in the fourth ODI of the ongoing India-Sri Lanka series, sported the same number behind his back.
Speaking to media, Thakur explained that he had chosen the number because the sum of the digits of his birthdate, 16+10+1991, comes out to be 10. Interestingly, Thakur’s initials, are also the same as that of Sachin’s.
What’s next?
Despite being part of the Team India fold since July 2016, Thakur got to make his debut only in the ongoing ODI series, but will look to get more chances as India builds a team in the lead-up to the 2019 World Cup.
Author’s Take
While opinions will vary on Shardul Thakur's decision to wear the No.10 jersey, despite knowing how the fans relate it to Sachin, one should also realise that choosing the number was within his rights as the Board hasn't officially retired the jersey from Indian cricket.
Yet, knowing that the No.10 is synonymous with Sachin, Thakur could have avoided the fuss, and selected a different number.
Also read: Indian National Cricket Team Jersey numbers