"Want to thank those who were part of my journey" - Shikhar Dhawan after winning Arjuna Award

India opener Shikhar Dhawan was conferred with the Arjuna Award on Sunday by President Ram Nath Kovind. Dhawan said it was a huge honor for him and thanked those who were there with him throughout his journey, including his coaches, medical staff, support staff, the Indian cricket board and his teammates, apart from family and friends.

After being presented with the award, Dhawan tweeted:

"Arjuna award receive karna mere liye bohot sammaan ki baat hai. Mai unn sabhi logon ka dhanyawad karna chahta hu jo iss safar mein mere saath khade rahe - mere coaches, doctors, support staff, BCCI, teammates, sabhi fans, mere doston aur mera parivar."

He said that the achievement would not have been possible without their love and support. He said it's an unbelievable feeling when your hard work is acknowledged and went on to profusely express his gratitude.

"Aap sabhi ke pyaar aur saath ke bina ye possible nahi ho pata. Ye ek bohot hi unbelievable feeling hoti hai Jab aapka hard work acknowledge kara jaata hai aur mai sab logo ke liye apna Bohot bohot abhaar vyakt karna chahta hu," Dhawan wrote in another tweet.

In the final tweet in the thread, Dhawan wrote:

"I will continue to work hard to make my country proud. Congratulations to all the awardees."

While Dhawan became an Arjuna Awardee, Mithali Raj became the first woman cricketer to be conferred the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, India's highest sporting honour.

Shikhar Dhawan honored for "outstanding achievements" in cricket

Shikhar Dhawan has become one of the mainstays in Indian cricket since making his ODI debut in 2010.

The official account of President Ram Nath Kovind tweeted:

"President Kovind confers Arjuna Award, 2021 on Shri Shikhar Dhawan in recognition of his outstanding achievements in Cricket."

The tweet went on to mention that Shikhar Dhawan was the fastest Indian to reach the 2000 and 3000-run milestones in ODIs and the second fastest Indian to reach the 4000 and 5000-run marks in the same format.

Dhawan has played 34 Tests, 145 ODIs and 68 T20 Internationals (T20Is) for India.

In Tests, he has scored 2215 runs, while in ODIs he has 6105 runs under his belt.

He has scored 1759 runs in T20Is.