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London: Indian batting icon Sachin Tendulkar has been inducted into the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Hall of Fame alongside South African pace legend Allan Donald Donald.
Tendulkar became the sixth Indian to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame, the previous bigwigs being Sunil Gavaskar, Bishan Singh Bedi, Kapil Dev, Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid. Joining Tendulkar and Donald in the Hall of Fame was two-time World Cup-winning Australian woman cricketer Cathryn Fitzpatrick.
“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,” Tendulkar said at the induction ceremony held here.
He thanked his family and coach, who has supported him in his journey in international cricket for close to two and half decades.
Tendulkar, the most prolific batsman in history, was inducted immediately after becoming eligible for induction, which requires that a player should have played his last international match at least five years before. 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. Tendulkar, who retired in November 2013, tallied 15,921 runs in Tests and 18,426 in ODIs, both of which remain records.
Awe-struck Donald
Legendary South Africa pacer Allan Donald said he was shocked to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame, adding that when he got the email, it hit him and he was overwhelmed. Donald, known as the ‘White Lightening’, was arguably Proteas’ fastest bowler ever and finished with 330 Test and 272 ODI wickets. He is one of the players credited with South Africa’s success in the game after their return to international cricket in 1991. (Agencies)