Melbourne: Former Australian Test captain Ricky Ponting will join the likes of Donald Bradman, Steve Waugh and Shane Warne in a unique club on Wednesday when he gets inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
Athletes are required to be retired for two years before being eligible for the Hall of Fame, reported cricket.com.au on Monday.
The 40-year-old, who played his last match for his country at the WACA, Perth, in December 2012 and retired from first-class cricket with a final match for Surrey at The Oval, London, in mid-2013, shares the Australian record for most Tests with Steve Waugh, and has scored more Test runs (13,378) and more centuries (41) than any other Australian.
Only Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar has more Test runs and only the 'Little Master' and South African great Jacques Kallis have produced more tons.
His record in the one-day arena is no less impressive. In 375 matches, the Tasmanian scored 13,589 runs -- more than any other Australian, including 29 hundreds. And when Ponting turned his hand to coaching for the first time, his golden touch immediately conjured more success as he led the Mumbai Indians to the Indian Premier League (IPL) title.
"Cricket Australia are trying to get me involved in coaching in some way, shape or form. It's been spoken about over the last couple of months," Ponting said.
Former wicketkeeper and long-time teammate Adam Gilchrist will induct Ponting into the Hall of Fame.
