When legendary Indian batsman Rahul Dravid, Former Australian Captain Ricky Ponting and English keeper-batsman Claire Taylor were inducted in the ICC Hall of Fame, there was an obvious question in the minds of many, why not Sachin Tendulkar?
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Rahul Dravid became the fourth Indian to be inducted in the ICC Hall of Fame after Bishan Singh Bedi, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Anil Kumble.
After Dravid was honoured, an emotional Karnataka lad said, “It’s a real honour and privilege to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame and be in the company of some of my heroes. Thank you to everyone for the support throughout my career.
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“To find your name in a list of all-time greats across generations is something one only dreams of while setting out on a cricket career and the kind of recognition that would delight any player.”
The ICC has laid down precise criteria for the induction into the Hall of Fame. A batsman should have scored a minimum of 8,000 runs and 20 hundreds in either Tests or One-Day Internationals or should average over 50 to be eligible for the elite list. On the other hand, bowlers should have at least 200 wickets against their name. A wicket-keeper must have a minimum of 200 dismissals in either or both the formats.
Then, why not Sachin?
When ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said, “The ICC Cricket Hall of Fame is our way of honouring the greats of our game. Only the very best players in the world are recognised for their contribution to cricket in this way”, one could not resist but beg the question, why not Sachin Tendulkar?
Actually as per the guidelines, a cricketer can be inducted in the ICC Hall of fame only 5 years after he has retired from all forms of international cricket. As Sachin retired on 16th November, 2013 he can only be inducted after November, 2018.
