Zaheer Khan ignores No. 7 jersey: Former India left-arm pacer has shown a massive sign of respect for MS Dhoni.
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The culture of player jerseys and their numbers might not be as prevalent in India as it is in other countries and sports. Despite that, former India left-arm pacer Zaheer Khan has dedicated the No. 7 jersey to former India captain and current wicket-keeper batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Having last played for India during their tour of New Zealand in 2014, Zaheer Khan will once again take the field for Bengal Tigers in the upcoming edition of the T10 Cricket League. In which will be the second edition of the tournament, it will run from November 21 to December 2.
Zaheer Khan was presented with his jersey at a promotional event by Anis Sajan, mentor of Bengal Tigers. Apart from being excited due to the presence of the Indian legend, Sajan disclosed 40-year old cricketer’s jersey number.
“Zaheer preferred No. 34 and so we presented it to him. He is keen to entertain the fans wearing that jersey,” Sajan was quoted as saying by Gulf News.
Zaheer Khan himself revealed the reason behind choosing jersey No. 34. “My date of birth is October 7. I did not prefer for No. 7 as it is the jersey number of Dhoni. So for me, 34 is three plus four and it is seven and I opted for it,” the former Indian cricketer said.
Such sights of players not using a jersey number which belongs to someone else is a new by any Indian cricketer. Having said that, it is a norm which is usually followed in other nations. It also speaks highly about Zaheer Khan and his respect for the former Indian captain.
It is worth mentioning that between his last international outing and the T10 Cricket League, Zaheer Khan had played four seasons of the IPL (one for Mumbai Indians and three for Delhi Daredevils).
With 597 wickets in 303 appearances for India to his name, Zaheer Khan is India’s fourth-highest wicket-taker across formats.
Read some of the recent Twitter reactions on the T10 Cricket League below:
