Sana Mir creates history with ICC Hall of Fame induction alongside Dhoni, Amla, other greats

Former Pakistan women’s cricket team captain Sana Mir has made history as the first female cricketer from the country to be inducted into the International Cricket Council (ICC) Hall of Fame.

As per the details, Mir was among the seven new inductees unveiled by West Indies legend Ian Bishop at a ceremony ahead of the World Test Championship final. She was inducted alongside India’s MS Dhoni, England’s Sarah Taylor, South Africa’s Hashim Amla and Graeme Smith, Australia's Matthew Hayden and New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori.

The former off-spinning all-rounder, who represented Pakistan for around 15 years from 2005-2019, set numerous records during her career, and has now joined an elite group of just 14 women and a total of eight Pakistanis who have received the honour.

She remains Pakistan's leading wicket-taker in women's ODIs with 151 scalps and was the first Asian woman to play 100 T20 internationals. As captain for eight years, Mir led Pakistan to two Asian Games gold medals (2010 and 2014) and guided the team in five T20 World Cups and two ODI World Cups.

Her leadership produced landmark moments including Pakistan's first ODI victory against South Africa and qualification for the 2017 World Cup Super Sixes where her 5/14 against Scotland proved decisive. Mir retired as one of Pakistan's most decorated athletes in 2019.

“From dreaming as a little girl that one day there would even be a women's team in our country to now standing here, inducted among the very legends I idolised long before I ever held a bat or a ball — this is a moment I couldn’t have dared to imagine,” ICC quoted her as saying.

“I am incredibly grateful for this honour and hope to give back to the sport in any way I can. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my teammates, coaches and family for all their support over the years,” she said.

It may be noted that the seven other Pakistani cricketers in the Hall of Fame are Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Javed Miandad, Abdul Qadir, Zaheer Abbas, Waqar Younis and Hanif Mohammad.