The Indian cricket board (BCCI) has decided to retire the number seven jersey of icon Mahendra Singh Dhoni as a tribute to his immense contribution to the country's sport.

The BCCI has decided to retire the jersey no. 7, The Indian Express reported.

The board has reportedly asked Indian players, more specifically the debutants, not to choose jerseys carrying the particular number.

"The young players and current Indian team players have been told not to pick M S Dhoni’s Number 7 jersey. The BCCI has decided to retire Dhoni’s T-shirt for his contribution to the game.

"A new player can’t get No. 7, and No. 10 was already off the list of available numbers," a BCCI official said as quoted by The Indian Express.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) allows all cricketers to pick any number between 1 to 100 as their jersey numbers.

Photo courtesy: Screenshot grab from YouTube video

"At present, 60-odd numbers are designated to the regulars in the Indian team and those in contention.

"So even if a player is out of the team for about a year or so, we don’t give away his number to a new player. That means a recent debutant has just 30-odd numbers to choose from." a BCCI official told the daily.

Dhoni, a two-time World Cup winnings captain, retired from international cricket in 2020.

Earlier, cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar's Number 10 jersey was retired by BCCI.