India's prime minister Manmohan Singh has nominated the country's cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar for membership of the upper house of parliament.
12 of the 250 seats in the upper house lie in the favour of the country's president and are normally awarded to people who have excelled in such fields as the arts, science and sport.
Tendulkar and his wife made a courtesy visit yesterday to the ruling Congress Party president Sonia Gandhi at her residence.