It's one number that is close to my heart: MS Dhoni on the legend of No.7 jersey

Tags: IPL 2022, Chennai XI, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Jersey

Published on: Mar 17, 2022

Former India captain and current Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni has revealed the reason behind his preference for the No.7 jersey. Dhoni wore the No.7 on his back right through his international career and has been doing the same for CSK as well in the Indian Premier League (IPL)

During a virtual interaction with fans organized by India Cements, Dhoni said that the number 7 is close to his heart, but clarified that there is no superstition behind it. He stated, "A lot of people initially thought that 7 is a lucky number for me and all of that. But I chose the number for a very simple reason. I was born on the 7th of July. So it's the 7th day of the 7th month, that was the reason.”

"Rather than getting to all the different things as to what number is a good number and all, I thought I will use my date of birth as the number. Then whenever people kept asking me, I kept adding to the answer. 81 was the year, 8-1 is again 7, 7 is a very neutral number. People actually kept telling me, I started absorbing it and I started telling it to others in the same way,” the 40-year-old added.

The Indian legend explained that a lot of people told him that 7 is a neutral number and that even if it doesn't work for him, it also won’t go against him. Dhoni stated, "I am not very superstitious about it, but it's one number that is close to my heart and I have kept it over the years with me.”

Dhoni will be leading Chennai Super Kings in the upcoming IPL 2022 edition. The four-time winners are the defending champions in the competition. CSK’s campaign in IPL 2022 will get underway with a clash against last year's runners-up Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on March 26.

CSK’s players have been training in Surat since last week in the build-up to IPL 2022. The franchise retained Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Moeen Ali ahead of the mega auction. At the auction in Bengaluru, they bought back Dwayne Bravo, Deepak Chahar, Ambati Rayudu and Robin Uthappa. There are question marks over Chahar’s availability as he is under rehabilitation for injury.

–By A Cricket Correspondent

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