Indian cricket great Sachin Tendulkar was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame at a ceremony in London alongside South Africa’s Allan Donald and Australia’s woman cricket Cathryn Fitzpatrick on Thursday.

Regarded as one of the finest batsmen to have ever played cricket, Tendulkar accumulated 34,357 runs across formats and is the only batsman to have scored 100 international centuries. Having played 200 Tests and 463 ODIs for India, Tendulkar has become only the sixth Indian to be included into the Hall of Fame after Bishan Singh Bedi (2009), Sunil Gavaskar (2009), Kapil Dev (2009), Anil Kumble (2015), and Rahul Dravid (2018).

Apart from that, Tendulkar, who played his last international game in November 2013 against West Indies in Mumbai, also becomes only the eighth cricketer to be inducted in the first year of eligibility. As per ICC regulations, a player needs to be retired for at least five years to get the recognition. 

"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," Tendulkar said.

Two other cricket legends were inducted into the Hall of Fame as well; one being Allan Donald, the former South African speedster who played his final international game in February 2003 and has 330 Test and 272 ODI wickets under his belt. "The biggest shock when you open an e-mail like that - it says ‘congratulations Allan Donald, you have been inducted in the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame!’ It hits you, it hits you quite hard because it is a prestigious award and something that you can't take lightly. I thank the ICC for the huge honour," Donald said.

"It all immediately takes you back to where you started. The reflection is of such a nature that everything that you have done in your career since you were a little boy starts to creep into your head. There are so many people to thank who have influenced my life - as mentors, as coaches.”

"If I start with Free State cricket back in the day, then the legendary Hansie Cronje's dad Mr. Ewie Cronje helped me through school and college cricket and then there was my uncle Des Donald who was very hard on me. Bob Woolmer was a mentor, we clicked in international cricket and he showed me the road to success," Donald said fondly recalling his mentors.

Cathryn Fitzpatrick, the third inductee, is the second-highest wicket-taker in Women’s cricket with 180 ODI and 60 Test dismissals in her kitty. Her exploits, however, aren’t limited to her playing career, as she also guided the Australia Women’s team to their 2013 World Cup triumph and also to the World Twenty20 titles in 2012 and 2014. 

There are now 87 cricketers in the ICC Hall of Fame. England, with as many as 28 players, dominates the list, while Australia (26) sits second. West Indies (18) are next followed by India (6), Pakistan (5), New Zealand (3), South Africa (3) and Sri Lanka (1).

Feature image courtesy: Twitter / @ICC

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