The ICC has announced three new additions to the ICC Hall of Fame on Monday, with legendary opener Virender Sehwag, India trailblazer Diana Edulji and Sri Lanka superstar Aravinda de Silva the latest inductees.
Virender Sehwag
104 Tests – 8,586 runs at an average of 49.34, 40 wickets
251 ODIs – 8,273 runs at an average of 35.05, 96 wickets
19 T20Is – 394 runs at an average of 21.88
Sehwag scored a total of 23 Test centuries during his illustrious career – the fifth most by an India men’s player – with his highest score of 319 against South Africa in Chennai in 2008, the best of any Indian player ever.
Sehwag totalled 8,273 runs for India in 50-over cricket and his 219 against the West Indies in Indore in 2011 remains the third-highest score achieved by any men’s player at ODI level.
Diana Edulji
20 Tests – 404 runs, 63 wickets at an average of 25.77
34 ODIs – 211 runs, 46 wickets at an average of 16.84
Edulji made just as big an impact on the field during her playing days when captain of India as she did as an administrator post-career.
Edulji played 54 matches for India over three different decades and made her mark as a slow left-arm orthodox spinner that netted more than 100 wickets for her country.
But it is perhaps off the field that Edulji has had an even greater impact, having played a major role as a trailblazer for India’s women’s cricketers for many decades.
In her role as administrator with Western Railways, Edulji worked hard to increase employment opportunities for talented female cricketers in India, and helped shape the sports policy of Western and Indian Railways.
Aravinda de Silva
93 Tests – 6,361 runs at an average of 42.97, 29 wickets
308 ODIs – 9,284 runs at an average of 34.90, 106 wickets
A winner of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup with Sri Lanka in 1996 and a classy batter that valued his own wicket, de Silva scored 20 Test centuries during an 18-year international career – the third most hundreds by any Sri Lanka men’s player – and was just as adept against the white-ball with another 11 centuries coming in 50-over cricket.
The most important of those was in the 1996 World Cup final, as de Silva almost single-handedly willed his side over the line against Australia with an unbeaten 107* in what was an unforgettable run chase.
A clever batter that always respected the situation of the game, de Silva was well renowned at being able to adapt the way he played depending on the circumstances and was an integral part in Sri Lanka’s resurgence at the end of last century.
