Salman Rushdie in line for best of Booker treble

Sir Salman Rushdie could win the treble, as he goes for his third ‘‘Booker of Bookers’’ prize in 25 years.

All 51 winners of the Man Booker are to be pitted against each other for a special award to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the prize, which will crown the best work of fiction from the last five decades.

Sir Salman won the Booker prize in 1981 for Midnight’s Children. He went on to win the ‘‘Booker of Bookers’’, run for the prize’s 25th anniversary, in 1993, and the 2008 ‘‘Best of Booker’’ award, for its 40th birthday.