Former cricketer R Ashwin has said Hindi was not the country's national language but only an official language.

He made these comments while attending the convocation of a private college near here on Thursday, where he asked the students in what language they would like him to address them.

While a few preferred English and there was overwhelming support when he gave the option of addressing them in Tamil, there seemed to be no takers for Hindi.

"Hindi --no response. I thought I will say it (Hindi) is not our national language, but an official language," the former India all-rounder said.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.