The master blaster of Indian cricket team Sachin Tendulkar was to be conferred with the membership of the Order of Australia.
The Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard is on her Indian tour, and while talking to media, she told that Sachin will be honoured with this award.
Sachin is not in the country at present, he is playing cricket in South Africa for CLT20 series. Sachin will be the second Indian to get this award after former Attorney General Soli Sorabjee.
Talking to media, Julia Gillard said, “Cricket is of course a great bond between Australia and India. We are both cricket-mad nations. I am very pleased that we are going to confer on Sachin Tendulkar, membership of the order of Australia (AM).”
She added, “This is a very special honour very rarely awarded to someone who is not an Australian citizen or an Australian national. The award will be conferred on him by cabinet Minister Simon Crean when he visits India.”
Further, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said, “So, a special honour and a very special recognition of such a great batsman. The honour is very special and Sachin is a very special cricketer.”
Meanwhile, West Indies cricketer Brain Lara was also awarded with the same ‘Order of Australia AM’ award in 2009. And in 1985, West Indies legend, Clive Lloyd, is an Honorary Officer in the Order of Australia.
Sachin Tendulkar is the first cricketer to complete 100 hundreds in International cricket; he has scored 15,533 runs in 190 Tests and 18,426 runs in 463 ODIs.
