3 huge cricketing honours Sachin Tendulkar has never received and why 

The God of Cricket, Sachin Tendulkar, is synonymous to feats and honours. He achieved several milestones during his playing days, some of which still have not been surpassed. Bharat Ratna, Padma Shri, Padma Vibhushan, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award, Wisden Cricketer of the year and a lot more, Tendulkar has it all in his showcase.

The Master Blaster is the leading run scorer in Tests, with 15,921 runs, as well as in One-Day Internationals, with 18,426 runs. He is the only player to score more than 30,000 runs in all forms of international cricket. He also holds the record of the highest number of centuries in both Tests (51) and ODIs (49) as well as in Tests and ODIs combined (100).

Yet, there are three cricketing honours that remain eluded to Sachin till date. Let’s take a look.

#3 Never rang the Lord’s bell

England v Australia: 2nd Investec Ashes Test - Day One - Ricky Ponting rings the bell

The ringing of the five-minute bell at Lord’s by an international cricketer or well-known cricket administrator is a recent tradition introduced in 2007. The bell, which is located outside the Bowlers’ Bar of the Lord’s Pavilion, is rung to signify the start of play, and it is a matter of huge pride to be invited to ring it on the morning of a Test match. Sanjay Manjrekar, Rahul Dravid, Kapil Dev, Sourav Ganguly, Dilip Vengsarkar and Sunil Gavaskar are the Indians who have been bestowed this honour.

Why Sachin has never rung the bell

Tendulkar was invited to ring the bell ahead of the second recent Test between India and England but his plans were washed away after the opening day was called off due to rain without a ball being bowled.

"Was all set to ring the bell at Lord's to start off the 2nd Test today, but unfortunately the weather had other plans. Hopefully, we'll get to see some good cricket over the next 4 days," Tendulkar later wrote on his Twitter handle.

#2 Not inducted in ICC hall of fame

Last month, Rahul Dravid became the fifth Indian to join the list. (image courtesy - zee news)

The ICC Cricket Hall of Fame "recognises the achievements of the legends of the game from cricket’s long and illustrious history. It was launched by the ICC in 2009, as part of the board’s centenary celebrations. From India, only Bishan Singh Bedi, Kapil Dev, Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar and Anil Kumble have been indicted into the elite fame list.

There are more English players in the Hall of Fame than players from other countries. Only 15 of the 84 inductees come from countries not England, Windies and Australia.

According to ICC rules for Hall of Fame, a batsman can qualify for the list only if he has scored more than 8000 runs and 20 hundreds in either Tests or One-Day Internationals. With 18,426 runs in ODIs and 15,921 runs in Tests, Sachin comfortably fits into this criteria.

Why not inducted

But, here’s the catch. Another rule says that only those players who haven’t played any international cricket in five years prior to the nomination can be included in the list. Tendulkar retired from international cricket in 2013, therefore, he was not eligible for making to the ICC Hall of Fame this year – Dravid, who retired in 2012 was inducted instead. Tendulkar will be eligible for the list next year.

#1 Not on the Lord’s Honour board

Quite a few Indians have their names on the elite board, but not Sachin

By scoring a ton, taking five wickets in an innings or ten wickets in a match, a cricketer makes his way to one of the most famous Honours Boards in English cricket. These boards, in the 'home' and 'away' dressing rooms at the Lord’s cricket stadium, bring back memories of the best batting and bowling performances in the long history of Lord's.

Reason

Tendulkar, who owns almost all batting records in both Tests and ODIs, is not on the Lord’s honour board because none of his 51 Test tons has come at the Mecca at Cricket. At Lord’s, Tendulkar has scored just 195 runs in five matches with a highest score of 37.

Other legends who are not on the board are Brian Lara, Imran Khan, Ricky Ponting and Shane Warne.