Indian skipper Virat Kohli recommended for Khel Ratna by BCCI

The Board for Cricket Control in India (BCCI) on Thursday recommended Indian skipper Virat Kohli’s name for country’s highest sporting honour Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award. The development was confirmed by the BCCI.

This is the second time Virat Kohli’s name has been recommended for the Khel Ratna award by the country’s cricket board. In 2016, the BCCI had recommended Kohli’s name for the coveted award but unfortunately he did not receive the same.

The prestigious award is given for the spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over a period of four years.

If Kohli wins the prestigious award, he will become the third Indian cricketer after Sachin Tendulkar (1998) and MS Dhoni (2007) to do so. The 29-year-old Kohli had earlier been awarded the Padma Shri in 2017 and had also won an Arjuna award in 2013.

Also the BCCI has recommended former India captain Rahul Dravid for the prestigious Dronacharya award.

Confirming Rahul Dravid’s nomination, CoA chief Vinod Rai told, “Yes, we have sent a number of nominations in various categories to the government. Rahul is the BCCI nominee for the Dronacharya award.”

Dravid has been nominated for successfully guiding India U-19 team to World Cup title earlier this year. Under his guidance, the Colts batch of 2016 played the finals. He has worked with India A team as well and forms the bridge between international and junior cricket.

Legendary opener Sunil Gavaskar’s name has been recommended for Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award.

BCCI had stopped sending nominations for Dronacharya awards due to multiple coaches at times claiming credit for a player’s success.

“It happened when a former India opener had signed two nominations where coaches claimed that the player worked under them. From then, we had stopped sending nominations,” a senior BCCI official said.

ALSO READ : IPL 2018 : Big Feat!! Virat is now the highest run scorer