Former India captain Rahul Dravid was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame during a glittering ceremony in Dublin on Sunday. Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting and retired England Women wicketkeeper-batter Claire Taylor too received the honour.
Dravid became only the fifth player from India to be named in the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame while Ponting is the 25th from Australia to do so. Taylor is the seventh woman overall and the third female player from England to be named in the list.
Former ICC Cricket Hall of Famers and members of the media selected the three.
Rahul Dravid: “It is a matter of great honour to be named by the ICC in the Cricket Hall of Fame. 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.
“I’m thankful to my near and dear ones as well as players I have played with and against, coaches and officials who have backed me over the years and helped me develop as a cricketer. I would also like to thank the KSCA and the BCCI for all the support over the years and the ICC for recognizing my achievements and picking me in this group of Hall of Fame inductees.”
ICC Chief Executive David Richardson: “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 and I would like to congratulate Rahul, Ricky and Claire who are wonderful additions to the list of cricketing luminaries in the Hall of Fame.”
Dravid aggregated 13,288 runs in 164 Tests with 36 centuries and 10,889 runs in 344 ODIs with 12 centuries, and was in 2004 named as the ICC Cricketer of the Year as well as the ICC Test Player of the Year. Dravid, who played a solitary Twenty20 International, was also a brilliant slip fielder and finished his Test career in 2012 with 210 catches, which is a world record.
Bishan Singh Bedi, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar and Anil Kumle are other members of the Hall of Fame from India.
