More than just a number: A tribute to sporting icons

It's not official, but Sachin Tendulkar's No. 10 and MS Dhoni's No. 7 are jersey numbers now out of bounds for Indian cricketers as a mark of respect for their stellar contributions to the game.

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Examples of teams retiring shirt numbers are relatively few in cricket, but the tradition has long existed in other sports. It is a practice that can be traced back to 1934 and ice hockey, when Canadian Ace Bailey's No. 6 was retired by the Toronto Maple Leafs. It is in North America that this tradition is most prevalent, with multiple NBA teams no longer using the numbers of several of their greats.

For instance, neither No. 8 nor No. 24 is active at LA Lakers as a tribute to the late Kobe Bryant, the only player to have two numbers retired by the same team. Michael Jordan's No. 23 is sacrosanct for the Chicago Bulls. Miami Heat also don't hand out that number even though the American legend never played for them. In fact, a common site in all NBA games are the retired jerseys that hang from the rafters above the court.

In club football, too, there are many examples. Paolo Maldini's No. 3 at AC Milan, Roberto Baggio's No. 10 at Brescia and Diego Maradona's No. 10 at Napoli are all retired. At Manchester United, the No. 7 became iconic because it was worn by George Best, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo across generations.