Indian PM Narendra Modi requested by gaming federation to bestow Virat Kohli with Bharat Ratna

Indian cricket sensation Virat Kohli celebrated his 30th birthday yesterday, on 5th November, and was greeted with an unexpected compliment on the occasion. The All India Gaming Federation (AIGF) have urged the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to confer Virat Kohli with the country's highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna.

Till date, Sachin Tendulkar, who carried Indian cricket on his shoulders for over two decades, is the only cricketer to receive the most prestigious award in India.

Kohli has been piling up huge runs consistently and has been the biggest reason why India have demonstrated batting dominance in all formats of the game. After the 30-year-old crossed the 10,000-run milestone in the fewest number of ODI innings, AIGF decided to write to Modi to grant Kohli the Bharat Ratna for his immense contribution to Indian cricket.

“Cricket is one of the most loved sports in the country and Virat Kohli has captivated the hearts and minds of billions with his scintillating performances over the past years. AIGF strongly believes that it is only befitting that his efforts in enhancing India's statue and image in the global sporting arena are adequately recognized by bestowing the honor of Bharat Ratna," the letter stated.

"Honoring Kohli with India’s highest civilian award will mean awarding talent, merit and hard work," the AIGF added.

Kohli has had an exemplary cricket career in all the three formats, to say the least. He has already achieved the highest ratings in all the formats for India, overtaking a string of previous records. He has been super-consistent with the willow in his hand in the past few years; it seems as though scoring centuries is not a big deal for the Indian skipper.

In the 73 Tests and 216 ODIs that Kohli has played, he has scored 6,331 and 10,232 runs respectively, scoring 62 centuries across all the formats in international cricket.