'It Felt Surreal': India Women's Legend Anjum Chopra Reflects on Historic ICC Hall of Fame | Exclusive

When it comes to the revolution of Indian Women's cricket, the name Anjum Chopra often comes to mind. A trailblazer in her day as a cricketer, Anjum Chopra was one of the pioneers who played a crucial part in promotion of women's cricket in the nation.

And the former India women's captain was bestowed with the highest honour, as she was named in the ICC Hall of Fame recently.

She was inducted into its prestigious Hall of Fame as the sole woman inductee in the Class of 2026, alongside Sourav Ganguly and Kevin Pietersen. This honour brings the total number of Hall of Fame members to 125 and makes Chopra the 13th Indian and only the third Indian woman - after Diana Edulji and Neetu David - to receive this recognition.

Born on 20 May 1977 in New Delhi, the stylish left-handed batter made her international debut in the 1990s and went on to become a trailblazer for Indian women's cricket. She was the first Indian woman to score 1,000 ODI runs and the first to play 100 ODIs. Across her career, Chopra played 12 Tests (548 runs), 127 ODIs (2,856 runs), and 18 T20Is (241 runs).

Her leadership shone brightly as she captained India to a historic overseas Test win in South Africa in 2002 and guided the team to the final of the 2005 ICC Women's World Cup. Notable highlights include her highest Test score of 98 against England in 2006, which earned her a nomination for ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year.

MyKhel caught up with Chopra for an exclusive chat, where she depicted her initial thoughts after being confirmed of her accolade.

"When the call came that something like this was coming up, I said, okay. But once the letter came, then it totally started sinking in. Three to four years before the event, I didn't know the enormity of it till it actually, you know, started dawning upon me, till I realized, okay, ICC Hall of Fame."

The former India captain was engrossed in her broadcasting duties, which didn't give her enough moments to reflect on the accolade. But once she reached the event, the enormity suddenly struck.

"I was travelling, I was working and the mind was not going on personal accolades or anything. So suddenly when it happened, then the next day, I was on my way to Edinburgh, Scotland. Once I landed there and the press release came out. When phone calls started coming in, and I was on my way to the event, I realised this is big.

It started dawning upon me with every minute or every second after I received the letter, like, fine. And of course, my parents knew about it. One of my family members was there. When I reached there, it felt surreal. It felt very, very, very different. And it seemed very grand before I went there."

Chopra, who has been a stalwart even after her playing days, feels the award makes her grounded.

"Everybody around me was happy and you can see the happiness on their faces as well. And that just made me feel very, very happy. And to receive it is a very humbling honour. It just gets you so very grounded."