London: Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar has been inducted into the International Cricket Council’s Hall of Fame alongside South African pace legend Allan Donald on Thursday.
With this, he has become sixth Indian after Bishan Singh Bedi, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid to be bestowed the recognition.
“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.
He thanked his family and coach, who has supported him in his journey in international cricket for close to two and half decades.
“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 someoen like coach Ramakant Achrekar as an early guide and mentor,”the master said.
Tendulkar was immediately inducted after becoming eligible for induction, which requires that a player should have played his last international match at least five years before.
Tendulkar has set the standard extremely high for the modern-day cricketers. From becoming the highest run-scorer in the history of Test (15,921) and ODI (18,426) cricket, respectively,the former India batsman holds the record for 100 international centuries.
He retired from the 50-over format in 2012. He scored his hundredth century in his second last match. The master blaster last featured in Test against West Indies at home in November 2013, which was his 200th match. Since his retirement, Tendulkar has made appearances at ICC events as an ambassador of various tournaments including the 2015 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and the 2017 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.
