Dinesh Karthik wants BCCI to retire MS Dhoni’s Jersey No.7 as tribute to the latter

MS Dhoni came into the Indian team when the side was straining to find an apt wicketkeeper across formats. A number of players, including Deep Dasgupta, Ajay Ratra, MSK Prasad were tried out, but no one could impress the selectors. It was Rahul Dravid, who kept wickets when India lost the final of the 2003 World Cup against Australia in Johannesburg.

Dhoni made his debut against Bangladesh in an ODI series in 2004. In his first three games, he churned out 19 runs with a golden duck on debut in Chattogram where Khaled Mashud ran him out. However, after he scored 148 against Pakistan in Vizag, there was no stopping the big man from Ranchi. Before Dhoni came in, India also tried out Dinesh Karthik.

Karthik wasn’t short of potential by any stretch of the imagination. But such was Dhoni’s aura and dominance that the Tamil Nadu cricketer turned out to be a fringe player. Karthik made brief comebacks, but couldn’t cement his place due to Dhoni’s presence.

Karthik becomes nostalgic for MS Dhoni

In the meantime, Karthik was filled with nostalgia after MSD hung his boots from international cricket. On Saturday, August 15, India was celebrating its 74th Independence Day and Dhoni took it as a chance to announce his retirement from the highest level.

Soon after, Karthik uploaded a picture with the veteran, going down the memory lane to the 2019 World Cup semi-final. He also asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to retire Dhoni’s jersey number seven in white-ball cricket.

He captioned the picture and wrote, “This is the last photo taken after our semis at the World Cup. Lots of great memories through this journey. 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,”

Here is Karthik’s post: –

In that match against New Zealand at the Old Trafford in Manchester, Karthik got out cheaply, but Dhoni kept alive India’s hopes. The now 39-year-old notched 50 and took the game deep after his team lost a flurry of wickets. However, his efforts went in vain and it turned out to be Dhoni’s last, donning the Indian jersey.