Shardul Thakur debuts with Sachin Tendulkar's iconic no.10 jersey, bashed on Twitter
Colombo: With Team India taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the ODI series against Sri Lanka, skipper Virat Kohli handed young pacer Shardul Thakur his first international 50-over cap during the 4th ODI on Thursday.
While fans would have hoped for a positive debut for Shardul, many of them were enraged on witnessing the Mumbai bowler don the number 10 jersey, previously worn by Sachin Tendulkar. The former Rising Pune Supergiant bowler soon became a subject of criticism on Twitter, with many fans protesting against him to surrender his jersey number.
Shardul Thakur is wearing jersey no10. Can't accept it.Ind's no.10 is Sachin.can't even imagine anyone else in that jersey#RetireJerseyNo10
— varunn (@imvarunp) August 31, 2017
BCCI had retired the jersey number 10 I guess. Why was Shardul Thakur wearing it? @BCCI
— Abhishek 🇮🇳 #408 (@ImAbhishek7_) August 31, 2017
Not Dhoni, Not Rohit, Not Even Virat, But Shardul Thakur Worn This Jersey 🙠#SLvIND pic.twitter.com/sswbFDhPwz
— Sir Oggy Billa (@SirOggyBilla) September 1, 2017
Jersey number 10
— Broken Cricket (@BrokenCricket) August 31, 2017
Then Sachin Tendulkar
Now Shardul Thakur
Shardul Thakur! The 2nd Indian Cricketer to sport a Jersey No.10 after Sachin Tendulkar?! #SLvIND
— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) August 31, 2017
Didn't like Shardul Thakur wearing jersey no.10!Infact can't see anyone wearing it except Sachin
— Swati (@SwatiT_) September 1, 2017
Bcci shud respect d emotions of Sachin fans
Brother @imShard I know you would have received plenty of messages, this is one among them. Kindly request you to give up JerseyNo.10 ðŸ™
— Hariharan Durairaj (@hari_durairaj) September 1, 2017
Hey @BCCI I thought Jersey No.10 retired with Sir Sachin Tendulkar. How come Mr. Shardul Thakur is wearing this number? NOT COOL AT ALL.
— Pratyush Garg (@GargPratyush27) August 31, 2017
Shardul thakur you are not legend to wear 10
— Anuj sidharth (@AnujSidharth31) September 1, 2017
Shardul later revealed the reason behind choosing Sachin’s iconic jersey number. While addressing the media, the pacer revealed the sum of his birth date is 10 that prompted him to choose the number.
Surprisingly, Shardul also hails from Mumbai like the ‘God of Cricket’ and the initials of his name ‘ST’ also strike a chord with the Master Blaster.
Shardul was previously a part of the Virat Kohli’s side since 2016 when the Men in Blue toured West Indies but did not play any match. However, the Mumbai speedster grabbed his opportunity with both hands on his debut with economical figures of 26-1 in 7 overs.
Slotting in for the experienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul is likely to play the 5th and the final ODI on Sunday.
