Indian Cricketers and their bizarre jersey numbers

Dec 13, 2017 at 8:23 PM

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Indian Cricketers and their bizarre jersey numbers

Sports and superstitions have always had a strong bond, with some of the most famous sports personalities having the most bizarre beliefs when it comes to the jersey numbers. While the entire world of sports has such diverse and strange obsessions surrounding superstitions, it is only fitting that Indians join in the party too. So here we look at the Indian players’ jersey numbers and unique stories related to those numbers.

Sachin Tendulkar – 10

For a long time, Sachin used to wear a number 99 (the highest number one can wear a jersey). He later switched to number 10 which is the number given to the players who embody creativity, flamboyance, imagination and inspiration through their play, and that was exactly what he epitomised.

Rahul Dravid – 19

In the case of Dravid, it’s not about any superstition. The legendary Indian batsman says his jersey number in 19 because it’s the best way to remember his wife’s birthday.

Sourav Ganguly – 99

Prior to 2003 World Cup, Ganguly decided on wearing 99 after he was made skipper and an astrologer suggested that the number would bring good luck to his side. And rightfully so, we did have a great WC under his captaincy.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni – 7

Dhoni was a goalkeeper before he became India’s most successful captain.
His jersey number 7 is also inspired by his favourite football team Manchester United and has been worn by the club’s talismanic figures from George Best through Eric Cantona down to Cristiano Ronaldo.

Virat Kohli – 18

Now coming to the jersey number of our terrific run-machine Virat Kohli. Ever wondered what’s the real reason behind his no.18. Virat Kohli’s father died on 18th December 2006 when he was 18 . Since then his jersey no. is 18. It was his father Prem Kohli, who sent him for cricket coaching. It was his dream that his son will play for India, but he never got to see Virat play for team India. His father died in the morning at 3:00 am and Virat saved a Ranji Trophy match for his team on that day by scoring 90 runs against Karnataka. Although some say his jersey no in the U19 world cup was 18, so he kept it forever.

Virender Sehwag – 00

The no number wonder. He used to wear number 44 (4+4 = 8) but the number 8 was proving to be unlucky for him. So, he did away with ’44’ as suggested by numerologist Sanjay Jumaani.

Gautam Gambhir – 5

Born on October 14, Gambhir wears the number 5 because his birthday numbers add up to 5.

Yuvraj Singh – 12

Yuvraj wears no.12 because it’s his birthday (12 Dec) which he considers to be lucky.

Suresh Raina – 3

Raina was given the number 13 during the IPL which proved unlucky for him. So, he covered the digit 1 on his uniform with a tape – making it look like 3 – to ward off the unlucky 13’s impact and has worn the #3 since.

Zaheer Khan – 34

His lucky number is 7. Since Dhoni already has it, he chose the 34 (3+4=7) combination.

Rohit Sharma – 45


His lucky number as suggested by someone is 9. But he didn’t want a single digit number. So what he did was split it into 4 and 5, which when added made (4+5) = 9.

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