Why was Sachin Tendulkar inducted into ICC Hall of Fame after Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid as announced by the ICC on Thursday
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Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame as announced by the World Cricket’s apex body in Thursday. Alongside him, South African legendary fast bowler- Allan Donald and two-time Australian World Cup winning Cricketer- Cathryn Fitzpatrick were also inducted for their exemplary services to the game.
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,” Sachin Tendulkar said at the induction ceremony held in London.
Sachin became the sixth Indian to be part of the ICC’s Hall of Fame, following Sunil Gavaskar, Bishan Singh Bedi, Kapil Dev, Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid.
Now, the question which is relaying on everybody’s minds, particularly the Indian fans, is why Tendulkar aka ‘God of Cricket’ and arguably the greatest cricketer of all time, inducted into the Hall of Fame before the likes of Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble?
Why was Tendulkar inducted into the Hall of Fame so late?
As per the ICC’s rules, a player can be inducted into the Hall of Fame only after he/she completes five years since taking the retirement call. Tendulkar, who had made his international debut in 1989, bid farewell to the game only in 2013 and hence the minimum gap of five years got over only in 2018.
Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble retired in 2012 and 2008 respectively. While Kumble was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015, Dravid was honoured the same in the year 2018.
Overall, a total of 87 players have earned their places in the ICC Hall of Fame. England have the most among them with 28 names followed by Australia (26) and the West Indies (18). Pakistan have five names in the list while New Zealand and South Africa have three each and Sri Lanka one.
Tendulkar, who retired in the year 2013, has amassed a total of 15, 921 runs in Tests and 18, 426 runs in ODIs in 200 and 463 matches respectively. Moreover, he is the only individual in the Cricketing history to have smashed a total of hundred International centuries across all formats.
