Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden is upset that the Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar got the Order of Australia award saying that that the honour should be "exclusive" to his countrymen, says a report in The Indian Express.
"I think it should be exclusive to Australians... There are things that are sacred amongst our country. I understand the point that he is an iconic figure. If Sachin was living in Australia – give him the Prime Minister's gong I reckon – but the reality of it is he's living in India," Hayden said.
"I kind of understand the point of the fact that he has been such an iconic figure here in Australia and there's an enormous population of Indians that are working here and living here very happily and in harmony with Australia that have naturalised and I think that's a great part of our country, how multi-cultural that we are," he added.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard had earlier 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.”
"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," she added.
Tendulkar is the second Indian after former attorney general Soli Sorabjee to get the honour, says a report in The Hindu.