Jacques Kallis, Lisa Sthalekar, Zaheer Abbas Inducted Into ICC Hall Of Fame

Legendary South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis, former Australia women's team captain Lisa Sthalekar and Pakistan batting great Zaheer Abbas were inducted into International Cricket Council (ICC) Hall of Fame on Sunday. Announcing the decision on their social media channels, the ICC highlighted each of the three players' achievements in international cricket. Kallis whose international career lasted nearly two decades is one of the most prolific all-rounders to have played the game and his stats speak volumes of his prowess with both bat and ball.

ICC Hall of Fame 2020: Jacques Kallis

10,000 runs and 200 wickets in both Tests and ODIs
Record 23 Player of the Match awards in Tests
South Africa's highest run-getter in Tests and ODIs
An all-round legend pic.twitter.com/5sDPlaCcQX

— ICC (@ICC) August 23, 2020

ICC Hall of Fame 2020: Lisa Sthalekar

ODI World Cup winner in 2005 & 2013
T20 World Cup winner in 2010 & 2012
First woman to achieve the ODI double of 1000 runs and 100 wickets

A true ambassador of the game! pic.twitter.com/Qt3ZKVH11f

— ICC (@ICC) August 23, 2020

ICC Hall of Fame 2020: Zaheer Abbas

Nicknamed 'Run Machine' for his big scores
First batsman to score 5x in successive internationals
Only Asian batsman to score 100 first-class centuries

An icon of the sport! pic.twitter.com/SQ8FvEta9g

— ICC (@ICC) August 23, 2020

In their tweet, ICC highlighted that Kallis scored over 10,000 runs and picked more than 200 wickets in both Tests and ODIs. Kallis holds the record of winning most Player of the Match awards in Tests. He is South Africa's all-time leading run-scorer in both Tests and ODIs.

"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 in an ICC press release.

"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," added South Africa's all-time leading runs-scorer.

Former Australia women's team captain Lisa Sthalekar was the second player to be inducted in to the ICC Hall of Fame. Sthalekar, the first women player to complete the ODI double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets, won two women's ODI World Cups and as many T20 World Cups. 

Sthalekar said never thought in her wildest of dreams about getting such an honour and join the greats of the game in such an elite list. She also thanked her teammates and family members for helping in her journey.

"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," Lisa Sthalekar said.

The third and last player to be inducted in the prestigious hall of fame list was former Pakistan batsman Zaheer Abbas. Highlighting some of his achievements, the ICC wrote that he was the first batsman to score five hundreds in successive international matches.

"Thank you cricket" is how Zaheer Abbas descried his feeling after the announcement.

"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," said Zaheer Abbas.

Last year, Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame, along side South Africa's Allan Donald and Australia's Cathryn Fitzpatrick. Before Sachin, five other cricketers from India -- Bishan Singh Bedi, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid -- had received the same honour.

Topics mentioned in this article

International Cricket Council Cricket Jacques Kallis Lisa Sthalekar South Africa Cricket Team Australia Women Pakistan Cricket Team