Zeenews Sports Bureau
New Delhi: Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden on Wednesday expressed his displeasure over Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar being awarded the prestigious `Order of Australia`.
The explosive left-hander said that even though Tendulkar was extremely popular in Australia, the honour should remain exclusive for the Australian citizens.
"Now, 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 told a radio show.
Notably on Tuesday, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, during her India visit, announced that `Order of Australia` will be conferred on Sachin Tendulkar for his huge contribution to the sport.
When asked what he thought of the PM`s announcement in India this week, the 40-year-old last night told Triple M`s Rush Hour, "I think it should be exclusive to Australians...I'm not so sure. There's things that are sacred amongst our country."
"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 said.
With PTI inputs
First Published: Thursday, October 18, 2012, 20:12