DUBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday announced Sachin Tendulkar as the 2015 World Cup ambassador.

“It will be the second successive time that the India maestro will be the ambassador of ICC’s pinnacle tournament, after he fulfilled the role in the previous event, which was co-hosted by Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka in 2011,” the ICC said in a statement.

In his role as the 2015 World Cup ambassador, Tendulkar will promote and support a variety of ICC initiatives to enhance the profile of the tournament, which is the third biggest sporting event in the world and will take place in Australia and New Zealand from Feb 14 to March 29.

Tendulkar retired from international cricket last year after representing his country in 200 Tests, 463 ODIs and one Twenty20 International. In a career spanning 24 years, the 41-year-old scored a total of 34,357 international runs and 100 centuries.

Tendulkar added the missing World Cup title to his long list of achievements in his sixth attempt in 2011. He is the all-time leading run-getter in World Cup history with 2,278 runs in 45 matches at an average of 56.95. For his 673 runs in the 2003 World Cup, he was awarded player of the tournament as India finished runners-up to Australia.

Commenting on his appointment, Tendulkar said: “I am delighted and honoured to be appointed the World Cup ambassador for the second successive time.

“After playing in the last six editions, the upcoming World Cup will be a different experience as I will follow it from the sidelines. It could probably be comparable to the 1987 World Cup where I was a ball boy, enthusiastically cheering every ball,” he said.

“The image of the champion team lifting the World Cup inspires many youngsters around the world and gives them a dream to chase a dream which I fulfilled after 22 years of relentless pursuit by being part of the victorious Indian team in 2011,” Tendulkar said.

Meanwhile, ICC chief executive Dave Richardson said: “The ICC is delighted to once again have Sachin as an ambassador for its biggest and most prestigious tournament. Sachin is not only an inspiration to cricketers but to all sports people for his endurance, perseverance, talent, personality and commitment to the game.”

Published in Dawn December 23th , 2014