Opinion Express View on M S Dhoni and Jersey No 7: Making a legend

No Indian cricketer will ever wear MS Dhoni’s Jersey No 7 again. Just as they can’t wear Sachin Tendulkar’s 10. The Indian cricket board has decided to retire the number 7 after the same was done to Tendulkar’s, a few years ago. It’s probably the only denial of a privilege that no one — a player nor a fan — will ever take offence to. It starts as an emotional move from the players, picking a number usually for a sentimental reason. And then, when it transplants organically into the minds of the fans, it achieves iconic status.

Diego Maradona’s No 10 and Paolo Maldini’s No 3 were similarly retired in respect and love by their football clubs. The experience of a charismatic athlete changes people in many ways — turning them from keen sports watchers to unabashed fans. Wearing the same jersey number gives the illusion of being involved in a special bond with that player. Almost as if wearing a Tendulkar or Dhoni jersey can magically imbue the wearer with talent.

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The sheer number of jerseys on adults with “18” and “45” (Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s numbers) during the World Cup said much. Perhaps No 18 too will be retired when Kohli ends his career. Had Rohit Sharma won the World Cup as a captain, his number perhaps would have been retired; now one has to wait and watch.

What happens when someone new tries to wear the jersey number of a legend? For fans, it feels like a betrayal. The Indian all-rounder Shardul Thakur found that out when he made his ODI debut wearing No 10. Not just the fans, but even Rohit humorously trolled him, tweeting “it takes guts to don that number but clearly you are the best example of ‘impossible is nothing’!” Soon after, the BCCI retired No 10. The erasure of a number from the professional world of athletes seems to be the final act in the myth-making of a legend. A number is folded away, a legend is immortalised.