BCCI nominates Rohit for Khel Ratna; Dhawan, Ishant, Deepti for Arjuna

Tags: BCCI, India, Rohit Gurunath Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ishant Sharma

Published on: May 31, 2020

The BCCI has nominated Rohit Sharma for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in the wake of his stellar performances across formats in 2019. Further, the names of Ishant Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Deepti Yadav have been shortlisted for the Arjuna Award.

Performances between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2019 are being considered for the awards. Rohit was named ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year for 2019. The high point of this stupendous year was a record five hundreds in the World Cup. He now has a total of 28 one-day centuries, and is fourth on the list of leading one-day centurions.

Towards the second half of the year, Rohit also became the first player to hit a hundred in each innings in his first Test as an opener. “Rohit Sharma has set new benchmarks as a batsman and achieved scores people thought were not possible in the shorter formats of the game. We feel he is worthy of getting the prestigious Khel Ratna award for his commitment, conduct, consistency and his leadership skills,” BCCI President Sourav Ganguly was quoted as saying in a statement.

Speaking of Dhawan, he holds the record for the fastest Test century on debut, and has two golden bats for most runs in the ICC Champions Trophy. He has an impressive World Cup record, and scored a match-winning hundred in the 2019 clash against Australia before being ruled out due to injury. The southpaw is also the quickest Indian to cross 2000 and 3000 runs.

“Shikhar has been consistently scoring at the top and his performances in the ICC events have been significant,” Ganguly stated about the Indian batsman and Rohit's opening partner in ODIs.

As for Ishant Sharma, the Indian pacer has been the leader of the Test attack for a few years now, and has been doing a commendable job. "Ishant Sharma is the most senior member of the Test squad and his contribution has been vital in Indian team’s long run as the No. 1 Test side. Fast bowlers are prone to injuries and Ishant has had a fair share of them but he has fought hard to be back on the park every time,” Ganguly said in praise of Ishant.

Among the honours in Deepti's kitty, she holds the record for the highest individual score by an Indian in WODIs and is the lone Indian spinner to take six WODI wickets. “Deepti is a genuine all-rounder and her contribution to the team has been vital," the BCCI President stated while hailing Deepti.

--By A Cricket Correspondent

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