Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is among seven cricketers — five men and two women — the International Cricket Council (ICC) has inducted to its Hall of Fame 2025.
Matthew Hayden, Daniel Vettori, Hashim Amla, Graeme Smith, Sarah Taylor and Sana Mir were the other inductees into the ICC Hall of Fame unveiled Monday, two days out from the World Test Championship final at Lord’s.
Mir became the first woman from Pakistan to be a Hall of Fame inductee.
The ICC Hall of Fame celebrates the extraordinary achievements of cricketing legends who have shaped the sport’s rich and vibrant history. Players are eligible for induction only five years after their final international appearance.
From lifting India’s first T20 World Cup in 2007 with a young, untested squad, to guiding the Men in Blue to a historic 2011 ODI World Cup win at home, and adding the Champions Trophy in 2013, Dhoni remains the only captain in cricket history to win all three ICC white-ball trophies. His leadership brought calm to chaos, turning pressure into opportunity and dreams into triumphs.
Beyond captaincy, Dhoni redefined the role of a finisher in ODIs. His unbeaten 183* against Sri Lanka in 2005 remains the highest score by a wicketkeeper in the format. With over 10,000 ODI runs at an astonishing average of 50.57, his legacy with the bat is as impactful as it is enduring.
Behind the stumps, Dhoni was a phenomenon. His lightning-fast stumpings and razor-sharp anticipation revolutionized wicketkeeping in limited-overs cricket. Much like his captaincy, his unorthodox methods defied convention—but delivered unmatched results.
“It is an honour to be named in the ICC Hall of Fame, which recognises the contributions of cricketers across generations and from all over the world,” he said. “To have your name remembered alongside such all-time greats is a wonderful feeling. It is something that I will cherish forever.”
The ICC Hall of Fame was launched in January 2009 as part of the ICC’s centenary celebrations and has since celebrated the greatest players to have graced the game.
Brief profiles of the inductees:
Men:
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (India)
4,876 runs at 38.08 in 90 Tests with 256 catches and 38 stumpings
10,773 runs at 50.57 in 350 ODIs with 321 catches and 123 stumpings
1,617 runs at 37.60 in 98 T20Is with 57 catches and 34 stumpings
Under his leadership, India rose to take the top prize in all formats: winning the inaugural ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2007, leading the Test rankings for 18 months from December 2009, and finally winning the 50-over World Cup in 2011, when he struck the winning six in the final against Sri Lanka. No-one has captained his country in more international matches, and he was named in the ICC’s ODI and T20I Teams of the Decade at the end of 2019.
Hashim Amla (South Africa)
9,282 runs at 46.64 in 124 Tests
8,113 runs at 49.46 in 181 ODIs
1,277 runs at 33.60 in 44 T20Is
The first South African to score a triple century in Test cricket when he struck an unbeaten 311 against England at The Oval in 2012, he ended as the second-leading run-scorer for his country in the longer form of the game. He led South Africa in 14 Tests, captaining them to victory against Sri Lanka in his first series as permanent captain. He was equally efficient in ODI cricket, where he is still the fastest to reach 6,000 and 7,000 runs.
Matthew Hayden (Australia)
8,625 runs at 50.73 in 103 Tests
6,133 runs at 43.80 in 161 ODIs
308 runs at 51.33 in 9 T20Is
After a slow start to his Test career, which saw him dropped from the Test team for two and a half years, he epitomised the all-conquering Australian side of the 2000s. He set a record for the highest individual score in Test cricket when he struck 380 against Zimbabwe at Perth in 2003 and made three centuries as Australia won ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2007 in the Caribbean.
Graeme Smith (South Africa)
9,265 runs at 48.25 and 8 wickets at 110.62 in 117 Tests
6,899 runs at 37.98 and 18 wickets at 52.83 in ODIs
982 runs at 31.67 in 33 T20Is
He celebrated his appointment to the South African captaincy by striking 259 against England at Lord’s – the highest score by an opposition batter at the ground. His physical presence at the top of the order gave reassurance to South African fans, and he became the first player to captain his side in more than a hundred Tests and to more than 50 victories. He captained his country to multiple Test series wins in Australia and won the ICC Test mace in early 2013.
Daniel Vettori (New Zealand)
4,531 runs at 30.00 and 362 wickets at 34.36 in Tests
2,253 runs at 17.33 and 305 wickets at 31.71 in ODIs
205 runs at 12.81 and 38 wickets at 19.68 in T20Is
The youngest man to play Test cricket for New Zealand at his debut, he became an invaluable part of the New Zealand team for a decade and a half, becoming one of just three players to achieve the 4000 run / 300 wicket Test double. He took over as national captain from Stephen Fleming and led the team to the final of ICC Champions Trophy 2009 and two other ICC semi-finals.
Women:
Sana Mir (Pakistan)
1,630 runs at 17.91 and 151 wickets at 24.27 in 120 ODIs
802 runs at 14.07 and 89 wickets at 23.42 in 89 T20Is
Sana became Pakistan’s captain at 23 and led them for seven years, including winning two Asian Games gold medals in 2010 and 2014. Having enjoyed a 15-year international career, she retired as her country’s leading wicket-taker in ODI cricket and second-highest in T20I cricket. Having started out as a pace bowler, a stress fracture forced her to switch to off-spin, and in October 2018 she became the first Pakistan woman to reach the summit of the ICC rankings when she went top of the ODI bowling table.
Sarah Taylor (England)
300 runs at 18.75 with 18 catches and two stumpings in 10 Tests
4,056 runs at 38.26 with 87 catches and 51 stumpings in 126 ODIs
2,177 runs at 29.02 with 23 catches and 51 stumpings in 90 T20Is
A naturally talented wicket-keeper-batter, she burst onto the scene in 2006 and struck a maiden ODI century against Australia at Chennai when just 17 years old. She played a key part in England’s World Cup and World T20 double in 2009 and struck 54 and 45 in the semi-final and final respectively as England won the 2017 World Cup on home soil. She set the standard for wicket-keepers around the world, especially standing up to the stumps, specialising in leg-side stumpings and she retired with a then-record 232 dismissals across formats.
