The Number 10 jersey that Sachin Tendulkar made his own, may not be seen on an Indian player in the near future, with the BCCI claiming that cricketers are unwilling to don it out of respect for the icon, despite the absence of any plan to formally retire it.
Tendulkar retired in 2013 and since then, the Number 10 jersey has only been seen once on an Indian player, when Shardul Thakur wore it earlier in 2016 on his ODI debut during the tour of Sri Lanka.
The 26-year-old pacer was trolled on social media for his choice and later went on to explain himself, stating that he picked the number for numerological reasons.
It’s an individual choice. If players don’t want to wear a certain number, one can’t force them. ICC might just tell you that a team can’t officially retire a jersey, but it would never tell you that it’s mandatory to wear that number. The BCCI has not taken any such call (retiring the Number 10 jersey). It’s a very informal thing among players. Also, you don’t want young players to be abused the way it happened with Shardul Thakur.A BCCI Official
There is no precedence of a jersey number being retired in honour of a player in international cricket. Tendulkar's IPL team, the Mumbai Indians, had, however, retired the Number 10 shirt in his honour.
Iconic jersey numbers have always had a strong emotive appeal in international football, but even FIFA has never allowed any particular number being retired in honour of a player.
However, clubs have done so, the most famous instance being Italian team Napoli retiring Maradona's Number 10 jersey to honour his legendary stint with the side.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)