Virender Sehwag has been one of the cricketers who never followed conventions just because everyone else did. In his shot hitting, playing, and in fact during the latter part of his career, he took the ‘non-conventional’
approach quite seriously. There were numerous times when Sehwag didn’t play without a jersey number. One such incident was during the 2011 World Cup opening match against Bangladesh in Dhaka, where he scored a brilliant 175.
Though Sehwag earned an official warning from the International Cricket Council (ICC) for violating guidelines, the story behind the same left fans amused.
Why did Virender Sehwag not wear a jersey number at times?
When Sehwag initially broke into the Indian team, he was handed the jersey number 44, a number that previously belonged to Sairaj Bahutule. However, his mother wasn’t particularly comfortable with the number and advised him to switch to No. 46, according to the cricketer. However, this wasn’t it. Things took a complicated turn for the cricketer when he got married and his wife, who believed in astrology and numerology claimed it to be an unlucky number for him.
Instead, she suggested No. 2 to the cricketer. Sehwag found himself caught between two opinions, and hence decided to go without number. Interestingly, it wasn’t a joke either. Sehwag had already been seen without a number on his India jersey, and as stated, the ICC sent him an official warning. Things took another turn when India went on to win the 2011 World Cup, and the former cricketer went on to joke that neither numbers brought him as much luck as without playing with one did.
