Mumbai: Veteran cricketer Sachin Tendulkar was conferred with membership of the Order of Australia (AM) on Tuesday for his service to India-Australia relations by promoting goodwill, friendship and sportsmanship.
The award was conferred on the 39-year-old by the Australian Arts Minister Simon Crean here. He was presented with a medal and a cricket stump.
Tendulkar became only the second Indian to receive the honour.
Tendulkar is the fourth non-Australian cricketer to be made an Order of Australia, the other three being West Indian legends – Brian Lara, Sir Garfield Sobers and Clive Lloyd.
Lara was made an honorary member in 2009 while Lloyd was conferred with the award way back in 1985. The award was bestowed on Sobers in 2003.
Tendulkar, who claims several of cricket’s records, has more than 30,000 international runs under his belt. He has scored 15,533 runs in 190 Tests and 18,426 runs in 463 ODIs. (PTI)