BCCI nominates Virat Kohli for Khel Ratna Award; Ajinkya Rahane nominated for Arjuna Award

The BCCI has nominated Indian Test captain Virat Kohli for the esteemed Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, and his teammate Ajinkya Rahane has been recommended for the Arjuna Award.

The wealthy sporting body has named a cricketer for the Khel Ratna after a gap of four years. The BCCI had nominated the former Indian skipper Rahul Dravid for the award in 2012, but shooter Vijay Kumar and wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt were finally picked for the prestigious award for winning medals at the London Olympics that year. Dravid was bestowed with the Padma Bhushan in 2013, which is the country's third-highest civilian award.

Kohli received the Arjuna Award in 2013 and has been nominated for the Khel Ratna after his heroics in the recent World T20 and his impeccable form this year. The ace right-hand batsman bagged the Man of the Series award for amassing 273 runs at an average of 136.50 and a strike rate of 146.77. He had three 50-plus scores in the tournament and guided India to the semi-finals. He was also named the captain of the ICC World T20 XI.

Rahane has been recommended by the board for his considerable performance in both the long and short formats of the game over the past few months, though his opportunities have been narrow. India's limited-overs opening batsman Rohit Sharma had received the Arjuna award last year.

So far, the only cricketers to have been honoured with the Khel Ratna are legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar(1997-98) and India's ODI skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni(2007).

“We have received their recommendations from the BCCI. Their names will be sent to the awards selection committee,” a Sports Ministry official confirmed.

However, Kohli receiving the Khel Ratna is not assured, as there is tough competition for the Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper from other nominated sportspersons. These include Incheon Asian Games gold medallist shooter Jitu Rai, squash star Dipika Pallikal, Athlete Tintu Luka and ace golfer Anirban Lahiri.

For the Arjuna award, apart from Rahane, athletes Lalita Babar and OP Jaisha, shooters PN Prakash and Apurvi Chandela and archer Laxmirani Majhi have been nominated.

In 2015, tennis star Sania Mirza was conferred with the Khel Ratna, who was the second tennis player to receive the award after Leander Paes. Along with Rohit, 16 others had were given the Arjuna Award last year.

The Khel Ratna awards players with a cash prize of Rs. 7.5 lakh and a citation and the Arjuna Award carries a prize money of Rs. 5 lakh and a citation.