Former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is undoubtedly one of the most iconic and celebrated cricketers across the globe. Dhoni is now counted as one of the most successful captains to don the Indian jersey. While the Ranchi-born cricketer called it quits on his international career in 2020, he continues to enjoy the same amount of love and admiration from fans. Dhoni sported jersey number 7 while playing and in no time the number became his synonym.
Recently, the 2011 World Cup winning captain appeared in an interview on Humans of Bombay, where he shared an interesting anecdote regarding his jersey number. During the event, a fan asked him if he believes in numerology, to which he recalled how he was once suggested to change the jersey number for more success.
The former India cricketer recalled an incident while travelling and shared that a fan suggested him to change his jersey number. Dhoni said, “I don’t say I don’t believe in it, but I don’t get into it. While travelling a few years ago, I met someone who told me, ‘Aap apna jersey number badal loge toh aur successful ho jaoge.’(If you change your jersey number you will be more successful) I told him if today I change it from 7 to let’s say 11, then who is stopping me more from changing it to 20 to 25.”
Mahi, as he is fondly called, added, “You can’t leave everything on luck. You have to believe in hardwork. You have to believe in destiny. So I was like, I believe in it but I am very happy with my jersey number and I won’t change it.” Dhoni went on to say, “Cricket is a very superstitious game and most of the cricketers believe in superstitions.”
In cricket, it’s not over until it’s over: MS Dhoni on T20 World Cup 2024 win
The five-time IPL winning captain also recalled how he celebrated the T20 World Cup 2024 win. During the same interview, Tanmay Bhat asked him if he also switched off the TV in the 15th over. Dhoni replied, “We were watching the T20 World Cup 2024 at my home and I had some friends over. After the beginning of the second innings, my friends went outside and also asked me to come.”
The 43-year-old added, “I was the only one sitting and watching, and they kept saying, ‘It’s over, let’s go outside.’ But I said in cricket it’s not over until it’s over. None of them believed and even i was questioning. You want the team to win but on the inside there are questions and doubts. They were also on the right path in terms of batting.” Dhoni continued, “But we have seen that in cricket where there is too much pressure, anything can happen, and we won the trophy.”