Legendary India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar was made an honorary member of the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) on Friday (Dec 27). Tendulkar, who holds multiple records to his name including most runs and 100 international hundreds is the latest member to be inducted to the prestigious club. The announcement coincides with the Boxing Day Test match between India and Australia with the five-match series currently square at 1-1.

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Tendulkar inducted into MCC

“An icon honoured. The MCC is pleased to announce that former Indian captain @sachin_rt has accepted an Honorary Cricket Membership, acknowledging his outstanding contribution to the game,” the MCC posted on X.

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MCC, founded in 1838 is one of the oldest sports clubs in Australia and is responsible for the management and development of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), one of the game’s premier venues. It remains the most honorary sports club Down Under with some of the greats of the game being part of the club.

Interestingly, apart from the 2011-12 Australia tour, Tendulkar scored hundreds on each tour Down Under. At the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Tendulkar has scored 449 runs in five Tests at an average of 44.90 and a strike rate of 58.69 including a hundred and three fifties.

He remains one of the most respected personalities in the cricket fraternity having represented India at international cricket for more than two decades. With more than 33,000 international runs, breaking his record looks a stiff challenge.

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While Tendulkar was in the headlines, the Indian team had a mixed day in the Boxing Day Test. After bowling Australia out for 474 in the opening session of Day 2, India did not have the best of starts with skipper Rohit Sharma (3) falling to Pat Cummins in the second over.

KL Rahul added 24 runs to his tally before being scalped by Pat Cummins. Virat (36) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (82) added a 102-run stand for the third wicket before the latter was the victim of poor running between the wickets. India closed the day at 164/5 with Rishabh Pant (6) and Ravindra Jadeja (4) in the middle.