"How dare he?": Mukesh Kumar faces outrage from Virat Kohli fans for sporting number 18 on Jersey in England

Mukesh Kumar is part of India A in the unofficial test series against England Lions.

India A team are locking horns with England Lions in an unofficial test series. Both sides will play two games ahead of the Indian Cricket Team’s five-match test series against England. The first unofficial test between the teams is underway at the St Lawrence Ground in Canterbury.

Indian pacer Mukesh Kumar, who is part of the India A team in the encounter, has been putting in the hard yards with the ball. But, he came under massive scrutiny as he was seen wearing the No.18 jersey in the match. This was because Indian batting legend Virat Kohli donned the No. 18 jersey throughout his test career.

Kohli announced his retirement from test cricket on May 12. He will now only represent India in ODI cricket. His retirement came a few days after Rohit Sharma retired from the longest format. Kohli played 123 test matches for India from 2011 to 2025.

Fans respond on X as Mukesh Kumar wears Virat Kohli’s No. 18 jersey

Notably, Kumar usually wears the No. 49 jersey for the national team, however, he was seen wearing the No. 18 jersey for India A. This did not go well with many cricket fans. They expressed their anger on X (formerly Twitter) after watching Kumar wearing Kohli’s jersey number.

Some fans also criticised the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for allowing other players to wear Kohli’s jersey number. Have a look at some of the tweets:

Notably, Kumar was also part of Delhi Capitals (DC) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, where he wore the No. 49 jersey. Meanwhile, the India A team have shown a wonderful form in the ongoing first unofficial test. After being asked to bat first, India A piled up a mammoth 557 in the first innings.

Karun Nair (204) slammed a stunning double ton, while Sarfaraz Khan (92) and Dhruv Jurel (94) also scored crucial knocks. For England Lions, Tom Haines and Max Holden have slammed centuries, taking the scoreboard past 300-plus on Day 3. India A will play one more game against England Lions. The second unofficial test will begin on June 6 at the County Ground in Northampton.

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