New Delhi: Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar will be the first Indian sportsperson to be conferred with the Membership of the ‘Order of Australia’, said the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

The ‘Order of Australia’ is an order of chivalry given to recognise personalities for achievement or for meritorious service. Tendulkar will be awarded an AM, which one of the six grades in the Order of Australia.

Sachin Tendulkar is the second Indian to receive the award after former Attorney General Soli Sorabjee to receive the honour. Sorabjee was awarded AM in 2006 for his for service to Australia-India bilateral legal relations.

"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)," Gillard told reporters in the capital.

"This is a very special honour very rarely awarded to someone who is not an Australian citizen or an Australian national. He is away playing cricket - surprise, surprise but the award will be conferred on him by minister Crean when he visits India," she said.
Simon Crean is the Minister for the Arts and Minister for Regional Australia.

By Indian Sports News Network