Cricket is a largely Commonwealth sport, in the sense that the nations in the top tier were part of the Commonwealth.
Hence, top practitioners of a sport that has served to glue together the Commonwealth nations merit high honors in the Queen's annual birthday list, argues British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
"Cricket is one of the great things that bind the Commonwealth together, a shared passion over five continents," Brown, who was on a visit to India last week, is quoted in the Guardian as saying.
"It used to be the case that great cricketers from the Commonwealth would be recognized by the British nation through the honours system. I believe it was a good system. We are nations of good sports. I would like to see some of the great players of the modern era honored."
The Guardian quotes Brown as suggesting honorary awards so "the British nation can salute their achievements in one of our national sports."
If Brown's proposal finds takers, it could lead to honors for the likes of Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar among others.
Thus far, the list of cricketing knights include Sir Garfield Sobers (knighted in 1975), Sir Richard Hadlee (1990) and Sir Vivian Richards (1999).
