Only three other non-Australian cricketers, Clive Lloyd, Gary Sobers and Brian Lara, have been made members in the past while Tendulkar will also be only the second Indian to receive the honour after Attorney General Soli Sorabjee, who was conferred the membership in 2006.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard told reporters in New Delhi: "Cricket is of course a great bond between Australia and India.
"We are both cricket-mad nations. I'm very pleased we're going to confer on Sachin Tendulkar membership of the Order of Australia.
"This is a very special honour, very rarely awarded to someone who is not an Australian citizen or an Australian national."
Tendulkar is currently in South African playing the Champions League T20 for the Mumbai Indians and will receive the award on his return to India from cabinet minister Simon Crean, who is scheduled to visit the country soon.
"He is away playing cricket - surprise, surprise - but the award will be conferred on him by minister Crean when [he] visits India. So a very special honour and a very special recognition of such a great batsman," Gillard said.
0 comments:
Post a Comment