Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the World Cup-winning captain, and four other illustrious Indian internationals were presented with ‘Life Memberships’ by the elite Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) on Wednesday.

The others are Jhulan Goswami, Suresh Raina, Mithali Raj, a former captain of the women’s national team, and Yuvraj Singh. Eight Test-playing nations were represented by the 19 new honorary life members who were named by the MCC.

The selection of athletes for life membership is seen by the club’s cricket committee as honoring outstanding international careers for some of the greats of the game.

Individuals who have made an exceptional contribution to the club or the sport are also granted membership.

“Honorary Life Membership has been awarded to five Indian athletes. Mithali Raj leads the list of women’s ODI run scorers with 7,805 runs scored in 211 innings, while Jhulan Goswami tops the list for most wickets taken in women’s ODIs, having announced her retirement from international play in last year’s England v. India Women’s One-Day International at Lord’s”, according to the MCC on their website.

The letter continued, “MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh were both essential members of the India team that won the 2007 ICC Men’s World T20 and the 2011 ICC Men’s World Cup, and Suresh Raina scored over 5,500 ODI runs over the course of a 13-year career”.

Guy Lavender, the MCC’s CEO, and secretary stated, “As we get ready for the upcoming new international summer, we are happy to be able to introduce our newest cohort of Honorary Life Members of MCC”.

“We are honored to have some of the best international players of the contemporary era among the names that have been named today as valued Members of our Club”, he added.

The other members are Merissa Aguilleira from the West Indies, Jenny Gunn, Laura Marsh, Anya Shrubsole, Eoin Morgan, and Kevin Pietersen from England, Mohammad Hafeez from Pakistan, Mashrafe Mortaza from Bangladesh, Dale Steyn from South Africa, Rachael Haynes from Australia, Amy Satterhwaite from New Zealand, and Ross Taylor from New Zealand.

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