NEW DELHI: After honouring Kapil Dev with honorary post of Lt. Colonel in the Territorial Army, star cricketer Sachin Tendulkar is likely to be honoured by the Indian Air Force by conferring on him an honorary Group Captain’s post. A proposal has been sent to the Defence Ministry for approval, report agencies.
“IAF has proposed to honour Sachin Tendulkar by granting him the honorary rank of Group Captain. We have sent the proposal to the Defence Ministry and they are considering it,” an IAF official said.
Once the Ministry clears it, the file will go to the Prime Minister’s Office and then to the President, the supreme commander of the armed forces, for approval, report againcies.
In 2008, India’s World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev had received the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel of the Territorial Army.
Tendulkar is arguably the best batsman in the history of cricket, having amassed some 31,000-plus runs in Test and ODI cricket with a staggering 93 international centuries under his belt.
The 37-year-old is hailed as perhaps the most complete batsman in the history of the game with no real chink in armour. He not only the highest run-getter in both Test and ODI versions of the game but also the only player to have scored a double century in a One-Day International.
One of India’s most decorated sportspersons, Tendulkar has won the country’s highest sports honour — the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna — and the Padma Vibhushan award.
The IAF had earlier conferred the honorary rank of air commodore on industrialist and aviation enthusiast Vijaypat Singhania.
