What's in a jersey number?

While M. S. Dhoni's number seven jersey refers to his date of birth (7 July), Virat Kohli's No. 18 jersey was given to him while he joined the under-19 team and he just held on to it. The men in blue, in a Facebook video, explained the reason behind their jersey numbers.

Unlike soccer, there is no rule governing jersey numbers in cricket. Players often choose numbers to their liking.

There is no rule that governs the jersey numbers of the players in cricket. And, unlike soccer, where the forwards -- in many cases -- have a liking for the No. 10 jersey, cricket doesn't have such history. The coloured clothing in cricket came into existence relatively late and the numbering much later. Players often choose numbers to their liking and some of them -- like Muthiah Muralitharan's No. 800 (referring his Test wickets tally) -- appear unique.

Some have a reason for their choice of jersey numbers while others don't. Here, the members of India's World Twenty20 squad explain their reasons:-

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Numbers and Cricket go hand in hand - here's the story of why No. 7 for MS Dhoni, 18 for Virat Kohli, 45 for Rohit Sharma, 12 for Yuvraj Singh, 27 for Ajinkya Rahane, 8 for Ravindra Jadeja, 99 for Ashwin Ravi, 25 for Shikhar Dhawan and 3 for Harbhajan Singh #WT20

Posted by >Indian Cricket Team & BCCI on Friday, March 11, 2016