NEW DELHI: Pakistan's pace bowling great Waqar Younis and former Australian wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist were on Monday inducted into cricket's Hall of Fame, the International Cricket Council said.
Waqar joins Hanif Mohammad and former team-mates Imran Khan, Javed Miandad and Wasim Akram as the Pakistanis in the exclusive club. Gilchrist will be the 19th Australian male inductee, the ICC said.
Waqar will be honoured by the governing body during the Twenty20 international between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Dubai on Wednesday, while Gilchrist will be feted during the third Ashes Test in Perth on Friday.
Waqar claimed 373 wickets in 87 Tests and 416 wickets in 262 one-day internationals before retiring after the 2003 World Cup. He now works as a television commentator.
“It's a huge honour for me,” said the 42-year-old Waqar. “I'm truly grateful to the people who've considered me worthy of such an honour.”
Gilchrist, also a prolific batsman, was a three-time World Cup winner in 1999, 2003 and 2007.
He played 96 Tests during a 12-year career that ended in 2008, making 5,570 runs and claiming 416 dismissals behind the stumps.
In 287 one-day internationals, he scored 9,619 runs and dismissed 472 batsmen.
“I am delighted to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, and to be doing it in front of my home crowd on the first day of the third Test will be a very special occasion for me and my family,” Gilchrist, 42, said in the same statement.
The induction of Waqar and Gilchrist takes the tally of male cricketers in the Hall of Fame to 71, while two more players will be added by the end of the month, the ICC said.
