January 22, 2008	Tuesday	Muharram 12, 1429

NEW DELHI, Jan 21: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Monday suggested that India’s record-smashing batsman Sachin Tendulkar be considered for knighthood for his rich contribution to the game.

“Sachin is one of the great cricketers in the world. It’s not for me to decide honours in our country. It is a matter for an independent honours committee,” Mr Brown said.

“But I’m sure the people recognise that just like Sir Don Bradman and others who were awarded honours as honorary knighthood for the work they did for cricket, there is of course a strong case for reward.”

The 34-year-old Tendulkar, currently in Australia for a Test series, has so far scored 11,616 runs in 145 Tests with a world-record 38 centuries since making his debut in 1989. He is also the world’s leading batsman in one-day internationals, with 15,962 runs in 407 matches with a record 41 hundreds.—AFP