Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
Lionel Messi and No. 10, Lebron James and No. 23, Cristiano Ronaldo and No. 7, Virat Kohli and No. 18, Rohit Sharma and No. 45 and the list goes on and on. The relationship between athletes and jersey numbers is one of the most special ones in any sport and one of India's biggest sportsman MS Dhoni has finally opened up on the mystery behind his famous #7.
There have been various stories made around MS Dhoni regarding his decision to opt for #7 as his jersey number throughout the years. But the CSK captain recently admitted that all of it are made-up answers and the only reason behind him selecting the number was because of the fact that it was his birth date and nothing more.
It's one number which is very close to my heart: MS Dhoni
In a virtual chat during an event organized by CSK for India Cements Family on Wednesday, Dhoni said, "A lot of people initially thought 7 is a lucky number for me and all of that. I chose the number for a very simple reason as I was born on 7th of July i.e. 7th day of 7th month. Rather than getting into what was a good number and all, I just decided to use my date of birth as the jersey number."
He added, "Then people kept asking so I kept adding to the answer. Okay, so 81 was the year (of MSD's birth) so 8-1=7. Some told me it's a very neutral number. What people kept telling me, I started absorbing it and when others used to ask me, I used to frame it in the same way."
"I am not very superstitious about it. But it's one number which is very close to my heart and I have kept it over the years with me," CSK captain concluded.
Watch the video here:
Well, the origin of Dhoni's association with #7 might have just been because of his birth date but now, the number holds relevance in lives of many cricket fans. Mahi also has a brand named 'Seven' which speaks volumes about the fact that it's not just a number anymore.