Eyeing a return to India's Test team, Mukesh Kumar is plying his trade for India A in the unofficial Test series against England Lions. The right-arm pacer finished as India A's top wicket-taker in the first unofficial Test and scalped 3 wickets. He scalped the key wickets of Max Holden (101) and England Lions captain, James Rew.

Mukesh hogged the limelight during the fixture but not for his on-field performance. The out-of-favour India pacer wore the number 18 jersey during the fixture. The number 18 jersey belongs to Virat Kohli and he has been wearing it since his U-19 days.

A BCCI official has broken his silence on the matter and revealed why Mukesh was allowed to wear the number 18 jersey. Speaking to PTI, the official said that there are no fixed numbers when players represent India A. Mukesh will have to change his number or revert to number 49 when he makes his India comeback.

"Mukesh wore No. 18 during the opening 'Test' match versus Lions. But when it comes to India A squad, there are no fixed numbers as jerseys don't have names. Anyone can pick any random number. The jersey numbers are only sacrosanct for international games," the official said.

Mukesh has been wearing the number 49 jersey since his debut. He played IPL 2025 wearing the number 49 jersey. He hasn't been named in Team India for the five-match Test series against England.

As for Virat, he announced his retirement from Test cricket before the team selection for the England tour. The India legend is now only active in ODI cricket and will make his return to international cricket on the Australia tour in October.

Apart from Virat, Rohit Sharma also retired from Test cricket in May. He will continue to lead Team India in ODI cricket. He and Virat had retired from T20Is after winning the 2024 World Cup.

Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Sports, Cricket, IPL 2025, IPL Points Table, IPL Orange Cap, IPL Purple Cap and around the world.