Harbhajan Singh defends Shardul Thakur for wearing Sachin Tendulkar's No. 10 jersey

What's the story?

Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has defended Shardul Thakur for wearing the iconic No. 10 jersey on his India debut against Sri Lanka, in the fourth ODI of the five-match series. Thakur received a lot of flak on social media for wearing the number that is synonymous with Sachin Tendulkar in Indian cricket.

"What's the poor guy's fault if he wore that jersey? If he's grown up watching Tendulkar, it may have been his dream to wear the No. 10 jersey and play for India, for which he's worked hard. It could be his way of paying tribute to the great man, or emulate him, or it could be his lucky number,” Harbhajan told The Times of India.

In case you didn’t know…

Thakur was seen sporting No. 10 on the back of his jersey, a number that was made famous by Sachin during his playing days. Thakur, who picked up a wicket in his maiden spell for India, at Colombo, later told reporters that the reason behind choosing the number was numerology, as the digits of his birth date (16-10-1991) add up to the number 10.

The heart of the matter

Thakur received a lot of flak from Sachin fans on social media, who questioned his wearing of the number ‘10’, a jersey that was even retired by the Mumbai Indians, the IPL franchise Tendulkar played for, in 2013.

Harbhajan saw no reason why Thakur should have been in the line of fire, saying that everyone respects Sachin and someone else wearing the jersey wouldn’t make it lose its value. A close friend of Sachin, Harbhajan added that even the legendary India batsman wouldn’t have a problem with Shardul's decision.

What’s next?

Having performed admirably in his debut match, Thakur, who has been on the fringes of national selection since 2016, would hope to get as much game time as possible in the lead up to the 2019 World Cup.

Author’s take

The hue and cry over Thakur adorning the iconic jersey might have riled up Sachin’s followers, but in the young pacer’s defence, he had every right to choose the number, as the jersey hasn’t been officially retired by the Indian Cricket Board.

However, to avoid the furore, Thakur could have gone with some other number. If the uproar continues, the young pacer, in the early stages of his career, might have to change his jersey number to avoid unnecessary controversy.