When it comes to cricketers getting their name on the honorary Lord’s board, very few are fortunate enough to get their names etched on the honorary list.
Even greats such as Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting do not have their name on the wall of fame. Which makes the feat of Sourav Ganguly even more special, who managed to scribe his name on the honours board in his very first Test outing.
However, amongst the lucky few to have his name written on the honours board is former Indian all-rounder Ajit Agarkar.
During the 2002 Indian tour of England, Agarkar shocked one and all with his batting prowess, scoring 109 in a losing cause.
In a recent interaction, Agarkar was quizzed whether he managed to sledge the ‘Master Blaster’ for failing to reach the honours board.
To which he replied by saying that he has too much respect for him to do that. “Just too much respect for him to do that to him,” Agarkar told Gaurav Kapur during a chat.
Moreover, during his stint at the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Agarkar managed to rub shoulders with former Australian skipper, Ponting.
Agarkar revealed that he took a sly dig at Ponting for not being able to reach the honours board. “But did it quietly to Ricky Ponting once, when he was playing for KKR with me. Just laughingly asked him ‘How many hundreds at Lord’s’?” he said.
In hindsight, Agarkar reckoned that given their contribution to the game of cricket, it would be disrespectful for them to even ask them about it.
“Look, I mean, those guys…I would easily swap my one hundred with them for what they have achieved, it would be a bit too disrespectful to ask them,” the Mumbaikar added.
While detailing his knock at the Mecca of Cricket, Agarkar claimed: “I was lucky enough to get a hundred there, and yeah, it’s a special memory.”
