Sachin Tendulkar says no to honorary doctorate

BANGALORE: Citing professional reasons, master blaster Sachin Tendulkar is said to have turned down the honorary doctorate to be conferred on him by the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS).

Tendulkar is said to have told the RGUHS V-c, registrar and two syndicate members that he wasn't inclined to accept the varsity honour as he was still active in professional cricket. He said that he had declined similar honour from other universities abroad as well and he respected the decision of the university to confer the title on him. Sachin's wife, Anjali, is a doctor.

The university is now awaiting an official regret letter from him, which will be forwarded to governor HR bharadwaj, who is the chancellor of the university. The health varsity syndicate will meet on March 8 to discuss the issue. With Sachin declining the offer, some members say that the university might not confer honorary doctorate in this year's convocation.

In a strange coincidence, two universities __ RGUHS and University of mysore__ chose to honour the cricketer this year. The University of Mysore is yet to communicate its decision to Tendulkar.