He rued that this “function of the empire” has fallen into disrepair now that most of the Commonwealth countries have opted out of the honoured system and have their own honours. “But I believe it was a good tradition to celebrate the achievements of the great Commonwealth cricketers — it shows we are good at sports and I would like to see some of the great players of the modern era — like Sachin Tendulkar —proposed for honorary awards — so the British nation can salute their achievements in one of our national sports,” Brown said.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister also said that India would receive a grant of 3.6 million pounds under a 9 million pound investment program to support sporting projects in five developing countries around the world. The pilot is the start of a larger programme called ‘International Inspiration’ which will deliver on the promise made to the International Olympic Committee in Singapore of engaging and inspiring the youth of the world through sport.