India’s Vinoo Mankad, 9 others inducted into ICC Hall of Fame; Details here

Dubai: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Sunday announced a special edition intake of 10 cricket icons — including former India cricketer Vinoo Mankad — into the ICC Hall of Fame to celebrate the prestigious history of Test cricket, coinciding with this month’s maiden World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and New Zealand.

The stalwarts, who have made great contribution to the game and were inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame are: Aubrey Faulkner of South Africa and Monty Noble of Australia (Early Cricket Era, prior to 1918); Sir Learie Constantine of West Indies and Stan McCabe of Australia (Inter-War Era, 1918-1945); Ted Dexter of England and Vinoo Mankad of India (Post-War Era, 1946-1970); Desmond Haynes of West Indie and Bob Willis of England (ODI Era, 1971-1995); and, Andy Flower of Zimbabwe and Kumar Sangakkara of Sri Lanka (Modern Cricket Era, 1996-2015).

These 10 legends have all made a significant contribution to the history of Test cricket, and join an illustrious list of ICC Hall of Famers, taking the total number to 103 as a result of this intake, said the ICC.

The ICC announcement comes just five days before the first WTC final, between India and New Zealand starting on June 18 in Southampton.

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, who holds Mankad in high esteem, said he learnt the greatest cricketing lesson from him.

“Vinoo Mankad’s legacy has been to tell the aspiring Indian cricketer to believe in oneself. He was a great proponent of self-belief,” said Gavaskar, also an ICC Hall of Famer.

“He was the one who kept saying to me that ‘you need to keep scoring runs and keep at it. When you get a 100, let that be the knock on the selector’s door. If it is unheard, then score that double hundred and let that knock be even louder. You can have the best technique, but if you do not have the temperament to support it you will not succeed, you have to keep hanging in there and have that self-belief.’ That was the greatest lesson I learnt from him,” he recalled.

The ICC Hall of Fame Voting Academy, comprising active Hall of Fame members, a FICA representative, prominent cricket journalists and senior ICC figures, vote online to identify their selections for induction in each of the five eras.

The ICC Cricket Hall of Fame was launched on January 2, 2009, in association with the Federation of International Cricketers Associations, as part of the ICC’s centenary year celebrations.

(IANS)