The Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) has retired the No.10 jersey saying it belongs to Sachin and Sachin only. Fast bowler Shardul Thakur was wearing the No.10 jersey series against Sri Lanka. He was widely criticized for that. The 26-year-old fast bowler from Mumbai will now sport the number “54”
Speaking to CricketNext a senior BCCI said treasurer Anirudh Chaudhary had written to senior members a request to retire Sachin”s No.10 jersey.
“Anirudh wrote to the senior members asking them to retire the jersey as the backlash was unwanted. Also, there is no doubt that he is one of the best players to have played the gentleman’s game. It was finally decided that it be retired after consulting a few of the senior players,”
Thakur made his debut at Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on August 31, 2017. To everyone”s shock and awe, he came to bowl wearing No.10 on back. Fans burst out on Twitter trolling him for “trying to copy little master”. No.10 used to be Sachin Tendulkar”s jersey number. It has a special place in hearts of all cricket fans and it is understandable that Indians cannot see someone else wearing their God”s number.
Thakur however, later explained the reason behind choosing No. 10 saying that the digits of his date of birth (16/10/1991) add up to 28 and 2+8 equals 10.
Shardul Thakur was born on October 16, 1991 in Palghar. When he came on to domestic circuit, he had raw pace and aggression. In 2-3 seasons he emerged to be Mumbai”s go-to bowler in Ranji Trophy and showed immense potential. All his hard work reaped rewards when he was selected for India”s tour to Sri Lanka this August.
In the first game he bowled pretty well but in the next match he was wayward and went for plenty of runs following which he was dropped from the squad for Australia series.
He started his IPL career with Kings XI Punjab in 2014 but warmed the bench most of the time. His move to Rising Pune Supergiants in 2017 proved to be fruitful as he got more chances and made a mark for Pune as well. He is a type of bowler who can click 140 kph on regular basis.
In 55 FC matches, he has picked up 188 wickets with 12 five-wicket hauls at 28.27 apiece. With Bumrah, Bhuvi being India”s frontline bowlers now, he has to sit on benches and wait for his chances, but India can be assured that they have got a quality fast bowler as a backup.
– by Atharva Apte
