Finally, Dhoni reveals the real reason why he wears jersey number 7

Former India captain M S Dhoni has finally revealed the real reason, or so we think, for donning the number 7 jersey since the start of his cricketing career.

Speaking at a virtual interaction organised by India Cements, the main sponsors of the Chennai Super Kings, Dhoni said that for all these years, people kept asking him why he chose the No. 7 and he kept giving different answers.

On Thursday (March 17), Dhoni gave the “real” reason for choosing the number and retaining it all through his cricketing career. “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,” said the 40-year-old who will captain the Chennai franchise once again during the upcoming IPL. Chennai play Kolkata Knight Riders in the opener on March 26.

Dhoni has been wearing the number 7 jersey in all formats of the game. Earlier, No. 7 was made iconic by soccer stars like David Beckham, Raul and Cristiano Ronaldo, but Dhoni brought the trend to cricket.

Dhoni made his international debut in 2004 against Bangladesh. That was the first time he wore the number 7 jersey and his career graph has been going up since then. Dhoni has earned the rare honour of being the only captain in the history of the game to win all three ICC trophies – the 2007 T20 World Cup, 2011 ODI World Cup, 2013 Champions Trophy. Dhoni has also been greatly responsible for helping Chennai Super Kings bag four IPL titles.

Dhoni, however, said there is no superstition involved in choosing the number. “A lot of people said 7 is a neutral number and even if it doesn’t work for you, it doesn’t really go against you. That also I added to my answer. 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,” he added.