Manmohan Singh calls Lara 'icon'

West Indies batting star Brian Lara met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who described him as an "icon" and showered praise on him for his cricketing skills.

West Indies batting star Brian Lara met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who described him as an "icon" and showered praise on him for his cricketing skills.

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40-year-old Lara called on Singh on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Port of Spain on Saturday.

"The world recognises you as an icon and enjoys your cricket," the Prime Minister told Lara during their 10-minute meeting.

Singh praised the former West Indies captain, who hails from Port of Spain, for his cricketing skills, sources said.

Lara told him how much he liked India and was happy to visit the country in the past. In future also, he said, he wants to travel to India whenever he gets a chance, according to the sources.

Lara is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time. He topped the Test batting rankings on several occasions and holds a number of cricketing records.

Remarkably, he is the only batsman to have ever scored a hundred, a double century, a triple century, a quadruple century and a quintuple century in first class games over the course of a senior career.

Lara retired from international cricket in 2007, after the World Cup was held in the Caribbean for the first time.