Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) on Wednesday (April 5) bestowed former Indian cricketers – MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami with life membership.
MCC, custodian of the laws of the game, revealed the names of 19 new Honorary Life Members, with eight Test-playing nations represented in the latest cohort.
While five names feature in this year’s list from India and England, there are players from Australia, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa and West Indies in the list as well.
Talking about the Indian players, Dhoni and Yuvraj were both integral parts of the Indian side which won the Men’s T20 World Cup in 2007 and Men’s ODI World Cup in 2011. On the other hand, Raina scored over 5,500 ODI runs across a 13-year career.
Goswami, who retired from international cricket at Lord’s last year, is the leading wicket-taker in Women’s ODIs whereas Mithali heads the run-scoring list with 7,805 in 211 innings.
Amongst the five former England players to get the honour are Kevin Pietersen, Eoin Morgan, Jenny Gunn, Laura Marsh and Anya Shrubsole.
The list also includes Mohammad Hafeez (Pakistan), Dale Steyn (South Africa), Merissa Aguilleira (West Indies), Mashrafe Mortaza (Bangladesh).
Guy Lavender, Chief Executive & Secretary of MCC, 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.
“We are also pleased to be able to announce two individuals who have been awarded this honour for their monumental contributions off the pitch.”
The new MCC life members:
Merissa Aguilleira - West Indies (2008-2019), MS Dhoni - India (2004-2019), Jhulan Goswami - India (2002-2022), Jenny Gunn - England (2004-2019), Mohammad Hafeez - Pakistan (2003-2021), Rachael Haynes - Australia (2009-2022), Laura Marsh - England (2006-2019), Eoin Morgan - England (2006-2022), Mashrafe Mortaza - Bangladesh (2001-2020), Kevin Pietersen - England (2005-2014), Suresh Raina - India (2005-2018), Mithali Raj - India (1999-2022), Amy Satterthwaite - New Zealand (2007-2022), Anya Shrubsole - England (2008-2022), Yuvraj Singh - India (2000-2017), Dale Steyn - South Africa (2004-2020), Ross Taylor - New Zealand (2006-2022).
