Sachin Tendulkar becomes 6th Indian cricketer to be inducted in ICC Hall of Fame

Indian batting legend and argualbly the greatest modern day batsman Sachin Tendulkar was on Friday inducted into the International Cricket Council’s Hall of Fame alongside South African pace legend Allan Donald. Joining Tendulkar and Donald in the Hall of Fame was two-time World Cup-winning Australian woman cricketer Cathryn Fitzpatrick. Tendulkar becomes the sixth Indian cricketer to join the elite list of international players.

“It’s a huge honour for me,” Tendulkar said at the induction ceremony held here on Sunday night. The 46-year-old former right-hand batsman is regarded the greatest to have played the game along with Sir Donald Bradman and remains the top run-accumulator in both Tests and ODIs.He has 34,357 runs across formats and is the only batsman to have 100 internationals hundreds under his belt.

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“It is an honour to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame, which cherishes the contribution of cricketers over generations. They have all contributed to the growth and popularity of the game and I am happy to have done my bit.

“On this occasion, I would like to thank all of those who were by my side over a long international career. My parents, brother Ajit and wife Anjali have been pillars of strength while I was lucky to have someone like coach Ramakant Achrekar as an early guide and mentor. I am also thankful to all my captains, fellow players and the BCCI and the MCA administrators over the years for their support and for making me enjoy the game so much and for so long. I thank the ICC for this appreciation of my cricket career and I am happy to note that cricket continues to grow with three popular formats,” the former India captain and legend said.

South African paceman Allan Donald is regarded as one of the finest fast bowlers to have played the game and had 330 Test and 272 ODI wickets to his credit before calling it quits in 2003. Nicknamed ‘White Lightening’ due to his express pace, Donald is the third Protea player to join the elite list after batting legends Graeme Pollock and Barry Richards.

Fitzpatrick is the second highest wicket-taker of all time in women’s cricket with 180 ODI scalps and 60 in Tests. As a coach, she guided the Australian women’s team to three World Cup titles.