Mukesh Kumar dons Virat Kohli's iconic No.18 jersey in India A vs England Lions Test, sparks debate

During the ongoing unofficial Test between India A and England Lions in Canterbury, Indian pacer Mukesh Kumar walked onto the field wearing the iconic jersey No. 18, a number associated with star batter Virat Kohli. The incident has triggered massive outrage among fans, especially coming just weeks after Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket on May 12.

For over a decade, the No. 18 jersey has carried Kohli’s passion and brilliance in red-ball cricket. Having represented India in 123 Tests, scoring 9230 runs and leading the team in 68 of those matches, Kohli’s retirement marked the end of a golden period. Fans are still coming to terms with Kohli's exit from the longest format,

However, with Kumar donning the same jersey number, there has been a flood of reactions from various corners. Social media platforms saw requests from the BCCI to retire the iconic number, just as they did with Sachin Tendulkar’s No. 10 and MS Dhoni’s No. 7 jerseys.

Sohel.@SohelVkf

Mukesh Kumar is wearing Virat's No 18 Jersey 💔

09:21 PM · May 31, 2025

8.2K253

Pari@BluntIndianGal

Anyone else wearing jersey number 18 in test cricket is such a disrespect to the test legacy of Virat Kohli

Viratian@Viratian1278919

@BluntIndianGal Retire Jersey no. 18 from test cricket @BCCI

09:46 PM · May 31, 2025

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Pari@BluntIndianGal

Anyone else wearing jersey number 18 in test cricket is such a disrespect to the test legacy of Virat Kohli

Gaurav Shukla@GauravS28903J

@BluntIndianGal Why? Indian Cricket hasn't retired that jersey number. And how is it a disrespect? Kohli's identity is be his game and not by a number. Let anybody wear it. Nothing touches the legacy of Kohli.

11:59 AM · Jun 01, 2025

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Pari@BluntIndianGal

Anyone else wearing jersey number 18 in test cricket is such a disrespect to the test legacy of Virat Kohli

Vrmaneesha@maneeshavr90362

@BluntIndianGal How can it be a disrespect, even Shardul wore no.10 of Sachin's. That time same fan base guys told it cannot be retired may be it's his favourite and all , if you go on retiring every number there won't be any numbers to wear in future after 20-30 years

12:16 PM · Jun 01, 2025

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Pari@BluntIndianGal

Anyone else wearing jersey number 18 in test cricket is such a disrespect to the test legacy of Virat Kohli

Goगोल@GoGool100

@BluntIndianGal retire the number

08:57 AM · Jun 01, 2025

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Pari@BluntIndianGal

Anyone else wearing jersey number 18 in test cricket is such a disrespect to the test legacy of Virat Kohli

Ash Cohle@ashcohle

@BluntIndianGal I don’t know why cricket team doesn’t do “Jersey Retirement” like NBA or MLB. It just makes sense to honor the legends of the game. 18, 10, 7 should be never worn again as sign of respect.

05:47 AM · Jun 01, 2025

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The BCCI had previously retired Tendulkar’s No. 10 and Dhoni’s No. 7, out of respect for their legacies. Given Kohli’s contribution and his impact on Indian Test cricket, leading the team to the top of the World Test Championship and bringing a new culture to the Test team, fans believe No. 18 deserves similar treatment. However, the board could do the same after the veteran batter hangs up his boots from the 50-over format.

Meanwhile, in the game, India A hammered 557 in their first innings, courtesy of Karun Nair’s double century and important contributions from Sarfaraz Khan (92) and Dhruv Jurel (94). In reply, England Lions put up a great fight, reaching 290/2 after 65 overs on Day 3, thanks to knocks from Tom Haines (124*) and Max Holden (94*). For Indian bowlers, Harsh Dubey and Anshul Kamboj got the crucial breakthroughs, while Mukesh has been wicketless so far, conceding 48 runs in nine overs.