The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) awarded 'Life Membership' to five distinguished India internationals, including World Cup winning captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, at the iconic Lord's cricket ground on Wednesday. The other players who received the prestigious membership were Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, former women's national captain Mithali Raj, and the legendary Jhulan Goswami.
The MCC announced the names of 19 new honorary life members who represented eight Test-playing countries. The club's cricket committee considers the nomination of players for life membership as recognition of their 'outstanding international careers for some of the greats of the game.' The membership is also awarded to individuals who have made an 'exceptional contribution' to the club or the sport.
The MCC mentioned the achievements of the five Indian players on its website. Jhulan Goswami is the leading wicket-taker in women's ODIs, while Mithali Raj is at the top of the run-scoring list with 7,805 runs in 211 innings. MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh were integral parts of the India side that won the 2007 ICC Men's World T20 and the 2011 ICC Men's World Cup, while Suresh Raina scored over 5,500 ODI runs across a 13-year career.
The CEO and secretary of the MCC, Guy Lavender, expressed his happiness in announcing the new cohort of Honorary Life Members of MCC. He said, "We are thrilled to be able to announce our newest cohort of Honorary Life Members of MCC as we prepare for the new international summer."
"The names that have been announced today are some of the greatest international players of modern times, and we are privileged to now count them as valued Members of our Club." The others who were honoured with the membership are Merissa Aguilleira from the West Indies, Jenny Gunn, Laura Marsh, Anya Shrubsole, Eoin Morgan and Kevin Pietersen from England, Pakistan's Mohammad Hafeez, Bangladesh's Mashrafe Mortaza, South Africa's Dale Steyn, Australia's Rachael Haynes and New Zealand's Amy Satterhwaite and Ross Taylor.
