Muttiah Muralitharan to be inducted into ICC Hall of Fame during Champions Trophy
Muttiah Muralitharan, the leading wicket-taker in both Tests and ODIs, will become the first player from Sri Lanka to be inducted into the ICC Hall of fame during the Champions Trophy in June.
Legendary off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, the first cricketer from his country to be voted into the ICC Hall of Fame, will be formally inducted during the ICC Champions Trophy in England later this year, Sri Lanka Cricket announced on Wednesday.
“It gives us immense sense of pride that Murali is receiving this highest honour. We are proud of him and the glory he has brought to Cricket in Sri Lanka. His illustrious career demonstrates that he belongs to this highly prestigious group,” Ashley de Silva, CEO Sri Lanka Cricket, was quoted as saying on srilankacricket.lk.
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One of the most iconic cricketers of the game, Muralitharan has been synonymous with the rise of Sri Lankan cricket since the early nineties. He was part of their World Cup winning squad in 1996 and had taken the world by storm with the art of mastering the ‘doosra’. According to de Silva, Murali was offered to choose between the Bangladesh tour to Sri Lanka, the ICC Champions Trophy and the India tour for being inducted and he chose the ICC event.
He will also be joined by former Australia captain Karen Rolton, Arthur Morris and Englishman George Lohmann, who were voted by ICC Cricket Hall of Famers and a section of the media. The latter two will be represented by their family members at the event. The ICC will honour their contribution to the game by presenting them with commemorative caps.
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A year back, when their names had been chosen, ICC chairman Dave Richardson had congratulated them and said: “Muralitharan has been one of the greats of the modern era. His guile and consistency over the years helped Sri Lanka develop as a very competitive side in both Tests and ODI cricket.”
“We have in the list some very famous names of different eras. Lohmann and Morris were outstanding performers during their times and are part of cricket folk-lore, while Rolton’s performances have been recent and came during an era when women’s cricket became very competitive,” Richardson was quoted as saying by the ICC on their official website.