ICC Hall of Fame 2020: Jacques Kallis, Lisa Sthalekar and Zaheer Abbas inducted

The ICC inducted Jacques Kallis, Lisa Sthalekar, and Zaheer Abbas to its list of Hall of Famers on Sunday.

The 2020 inductees into the ICC Hall of Fame were announced by Alan Wilkins, Sunil Gavaskar, Mel Jones and Shaun Pollock ICC’s social media channels..

Kallis is one of the greatest all-rounders in the history of cricket. He scored 13,289 runs in Tests and 11,579 runs in ODIs while taking 250 wickets in both formats of the game. Kallis has a record 23 Player of the Match awards in Tests. He is also South Africa’s highest run-getter in Tests and ODIs .Kallis has 45 Tests hundreds with an average of 55.37.

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“It’s a great honour to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. It is something that I never expected when I started playing. I certainly did not play the game for any accolades or anything like that, I only wanted to win the games for whoever I was playing for,’ Kallis said.

“But it is nice to be recognised when one has succeeded in the sport, it is nice to be recognised by people for something that you have achieved in the game, something that I am really proud of.”

41-year-old Sthalekar is a former Australian cricketer and became a World Cup winner in 2005 and 2013. She also won the T20 World Cup with Australia in 2010 and 2012. Sthalekar is the first woman to take 100 wickets and hit 1000 runs in international cricket. She retired from international cricket after Australian team won the 2013 Women’s Cricket World Cup.

“I am deeply humbled to receive this honour. Never in my wildest dreams did I believe that I would ever get to join such an illustrious group of players. I was fortunate enough to learn from the best when I entered the Australia team – Belinda Clark, Karen Rolton and Cathryn Fitzpatrick, all of whom have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, and rightly so. The guidance from them and other teammates along the way kept me focused but also ensured that it was a fun environment. Thanks to all my teammates,” said Sthalekar on her induction into the Hall of Fame.

“It goes without saying that if it wasn’t for the support of my family, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve what I have.”

Abbas played 78 Tests and 62 ODIs for Pakistan in his career. He averaged more than 40 in both the formats and is also the first batsman to score 5 hundreds in successive matches. Abbas is the only Asian batsman to hit 100 first-class centuries.

“I feel privileged and truly humbled to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame of the class of 2020. I am excited to be in the midst of other illustrious cricketers. I would like to say a special thanks to my family, my country Pakistan, my county Gloucestershire and many fans worldwide who helped me achieve and fulfil my dreams by playing this great game at the highest level. Thank you, ICC, and the members of the jury, for this special honour. It is a final recognition for any cricketer,” Abbas commented on his induction.

“This great game has made me the person I am. Thank you cricket.”

The ICC Hall of fame was first introduced in the year 2009. The first Indians to be inducted in the list were Sunil Gavaskar and Bishan Singh Bedi. Then it was Kapil Dev in 2010, Anil Kumble in 2015, Rahul Dravid in 2018. Last year the only Indian to be inducted in the list of Hall of Famer was Sachin Tendulkar.