The distinction between India A and official international match jersey protocols

In the near future, the Indian Test side is not going to find any player wearing the legendary jersey No. 18, which Virat Kohli famously wore for the last 14 years.

Though Bengal pacer Mukesh Kumar wore the legendary No. 18 in the first unofficial 'Test' between India A and England Lions in Canterbury, this does not mean the number is coming back to active cricket permanently.

Though Kohli hasn't retired from ODIs yet—where fans can still catch the iconic No. 18 in action—it is assumed that, like the instances of Sachin Tendulkar (No. 10) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (No. 7), no fresh Test player would consider taking up this legacy number.

Mukesh Kumar does not feature in the Test team anymore, and even if he is brought in as a replacement, it is known that he would go back to sporting the No. 49, which he sported in his senior international debut in the West Indies.

A top BCCI official, well aware of the facts, told PTI, "Mukesh played No. 18 in the first 'Test' match against Lions. But in India A team, numbers are not assigned as names are not printed on jerseys. Anyone can choose any random number. Jersey numbers are only religious for international matches."

The Indian Test squad announced for the next matches features two new faces in B Sai Sudharsan and Arshdeep Singh, each given a different jersey number than the legendary No. 18.

In Indian cricket, there is no formal system of retiring jersey numbers, but some of the classic numbers are generally not worn by subsequent players. For example, Shardul Thakur briefly wore No. 10 during an ODI in Sri Lanka, but fan outrage forced him to switch his number.

Then again, after Dhoni retired from international cricket, no other player picked up the No. 7 jersey.

Given Kohli’s immense contribution to Indian cricket and his widespread popularity, it is hard to envision anyone else wearing the No. 18 jersey in any format anytime soon.