Legendary Australia spinner Shane Warne, who sadly passed away on March 4 at the age of 52, might be honored with knighthood thanks to a petition that has regained traction, calling for the constitution to be amended to honor the cricketer.
The petition was launched three years ago, but interest has reignited since the passing of the cricket legend. The legendary cricketer died recently aged 52 following a suspected heart attack while he was vacationing on an island in Thailand.
The constitution dictates a knighthood can only be awarded to the living.
In a report in dailymail.co.uk, media personality Piers Morgan came out in support, highlighting Warne’s services to cricket and charity.
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“Shane Warne was the only one of Wisden's 5 greatest cricketers of 20th Century not to be knighted. He wasn't Mother Teresa but if Gavin bloody Williamson can get a gong then so should Warnie, posthumously, for services to cricket & charity. Make it happen,” Morgan tweeted.
Warne had poked fun at the fact he was the only person who was not a knight who had been named in Wisden's Five Cricketers Of The Century. Sir Donald Bradman, Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Jack Hobbs, Sir Vivian Richards were the other four cricketers included on the list.
'I'm not quite sure what the future holds but I do note that the other four men who were chosen in Wisden's Five Cricketers Of The Century are all Sirs. Perhaps my knighthood has been lost in the post,” Warne had written in a column for The Daily Telegraph.
The petition argued there was no excuse for Warne to not be awarded the honor.
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“Mr Warne's credentials for this honor speak for themselves. 708 test wickets. 1319 first class wickets. Hundreds of one day wickets. Ashes trophies, World Cups, beating the mighty West Indies in the West Indies, the getting out on 99, the flipper, the champagne on the balcony, the bunnies, the baked beans, the lifestyle, the romances, the life, the man, the legend.
And that's just his cricket. He's also a philanthropist, a journalist, easily the best commentator going around today, an entertainer, a larrikin, and an all around Australian hero,” the petition reads as per dailymail.co.uk report.
Meanwhile, Shane Warne will be posthumously awarded one of Australia's highest accolades in the next Queen's Birthday Honors List. Apart from this, it is likely that Warne will be made an Officer or Member of the Order of Australia, the second and third highest levels in the award system respectively.
(Daily Mail UK/ IANS inputs)
