The Indian Test team won't have any player donning the jersey No. 18 in the future. That number belonged to legendary Virat Kohli, who announced his retirement from the traditional format last month.
While Bengal seamer Mukesh Kumar sported the famous 'No. 18' during India A’s first unofficial Test against England Lions in Canterbury, it is worth noting here that there are no fixed numbers as far as India A squad is concerned.
Mukesh faced tough time on social media after a picture of him wearing Kohli's No. 18 jersey went viral. BCCI was also called out by several fans, who suggested that Kohli "deserves the same respect" as Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni.
For the unversed, the Indian board had retired the jerseys of both Tendulkar (No. 10) and Dhoni (No. 7) after their retirements.
Speaking to PTI, a senior BCCI official clarified that Mukesh isn't a part of the Test squad and even if he is selected as a replacement, his jersey number would be 49, the one he wore during his debut series in the West Indies.
"Mukesh wore No. 18 during the opening 'Test' match versus Lions. But when it comes to India A squad, there are no fixed numbers as jerseys don't have names. Anyone can pick any random number. The jersey numbers are only sacrosanct for international games," the official said.
The Indian Test squad picked for the England tour will have two new members in Sai Sudharsan and Arshdeep Singh, but it is learnt that the jersey numbers allotted to them are different.
Although there is no formal way of retiring any particular jersey number in Indian cricket, some of the famous numbers aren't sported by players who come later into the team.
There was one instance when Shardul Thakur had donned jersey No. 10 in an ODI match in Sri Lanka and the fans didn't take too kindly to it, forcing the all-rounder to change his jersey number. However, when it came to Dhoni, no one else wore No. 7 after he retired from international cricket.
Considering Kohli's immense contribution to Indian cricket and the massive fan following that he enjoys, it is difficult to imagine anyone else wearing that jersey No. 18 going forward.
(With PTI Inputs)
