ICC Hall of Fame: Kallis, Sthalekar and Zaheer Abbas inducted
The International Cricket Council (ICC), on Sunday, inducted three veterans into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame during a ceremony that was telecast around the world via ICC's digital channels. The three inductees include former South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis, Australia's World Cup-winning all-rounder Lisa Sthalekar and Pakistani legend Zaheer Abbas. Here is more on the same.
The ceremony featured a number of legends
The ceremony, hosted by commentator Alan Wilkins, featured greats Sunil Gavaskar, Melanie Jones, and Shaun Pollock as the guests. Meanwhile, the likes of Wasim Akram, Graeme Smith, and Alyssa Healy joined in to commemorate this year's inductees.
Jacques Kallis had an illustrious international career
South African legend Jacques Kallis is deemed the greatest all-rounder in international cricket. A veteran of 519 internationals, Kallis owns 25,534 runs and 577 wickets. He remains the only player to have scored at least 10,000 runs and take 250 wickets in both Test and ODI cricket. Notably, Kallis spent a record 4,028 days as the top-ranked Test all-rounder (2000-2013).
A look at Lisa Sthalekar's achievements
Former all-rounder Lisa Sthalekar was a part of the Australian side that won the ICC Women's World Cup in 2005 and 2013, and ICC Women's T20 World Cup (2010 and 2012). She was the first woman to achieve the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in ODI cricket. Notably, she spent 934 days as the number one ODI all-rounder (2007-2010).
Zaheer's records in international cricket
Having represented Pakistan from 1969 to 1985, legendary batsman Zaheer Abbas amassed 7,634 runs at 45.71. The 73-year-old was a veteran of First-class cricket, wherein he aggregated a record 34,843 runs. In fact, he is still the only player from Asia to have slammed at least 100 First-class hundreds. Moreover, he spent 215 days at the top of the ODI Rankings for batsmen (1983-1984).
Overall, 93 players have been inducted so far
Kallis is the fourth South African player to be inducted in the ICC Hall of Fame. Meanwhile, Zaheer the sixth from Pakistan to be a part of the elite club. Interestingly, Lisa is the 27th cricketer from Australia and the ninth woman player on the list. As many as 93 players have been inducted so far till now.
The inductees will continue to inspire future generations: Manu Sawhney
ICC Chief Executive Manu Sawhney congratulated the three stalwarts. "It is always a pleasure to announce the latest set of inductees into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. These are all players with a legacy that will continue to inspire future generations for years to come. I congratulate Zaheer, Jacques and Lisa on their inclusion in the pantheon of cricket greats," he said.
