Indian cricket’s brightest stars, Smriti Mandhana and Virat Kohli share the same jersey number

Two of India's cricketing legends: Smriti Mandhana and Virat Kohli have a lot in common! Besides their passion and talent for the game of cricket, both the women's and men's skipper wear the jersey no 18, and have carefully chosen the number.

Smriti Mandhana and Virat Kohli also play for the same franchise in Women's Premiere League (WPL) and Indian Premiere League (IPL): Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Smriti Mandhana currently serves as the RCB captain, a role Virat Kohli had taken on for a long time.

Smriti Mandhana and Virat Kohli have special reasons behind choosing the number 18 for their jerseys

Smriti Mandhana and Virat Kohli, both champions with the RCB, have chosen the number 18 for a reason. They share the jersey number in both international and Premiere League cricket.

During a conversation with cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal back in 2019, Smriti Mandhana had talked about why she wears the number 18 on her jersey. "First I wanted number seven since my roll number in school was seven. But, someone was already wearing jersey number seven. Then a BCCI manager said I should take 18 since my birthday is on 18 July. At that time, I didn’t know that Virat Kohli also wears number 18", said the now World Champion.

While 18 was not her first choice, it became a special number for her given it is her birth date.

As for the former Indian captain, Virat Kohli, he feels there is "a cosmic connection" with the number 18. Kohli had revealed during an interview that he had not asked for the particular number, it was given to him when he made his under-19 debut for India. However, the number went on to gain significance eventually.

Virat Kohli debuted for Team India on August 18, 2008 and his father passed away on December 18, 2006. "Two of the most significant dates in my life happened to be 18", said Kohli.

Smriti Mandhana has been asked on various occasions how it feels to share the jersey number with fellow cricketing great. However, she has always been against unnecessary comparisons. She has stressed that after what Virat Kohli has achieved for India, a comparison based on jersey numbers doesn't make sense.

No matter what, the number 18 in Indian cricket is definitely a symbol of dedication, determination, ambition and of course, champions!

For more updates, join/follow our WhatsApp, Telegram and YouTube channels.