Virat Kohli Receives Padma Shri Award At Rashtrapati Bhavan
Mar 30, 2017 at 8:37 PM
India skipper Virat Kohli received the prestigious Padma Shri award on Thursday, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The award, which is the fourth-highest civilian award of the country, was bestowed upon him by President Pranab Mukherjee.
The 28-year old Delhi-born cricketer, who enjoyed a stellar 2016 with the bat, led the team to the No. 1 Test ranking before taking over the reins of the limited-overs team from Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
In 2016, the right-handed batsman scored an astonishing 1215 runs in 12 Tests at an average of 75.93, including three double centuries. His record in the limited-overs format was equally impressive as he scored 739 runs from 10 games at an average of over 92, including three centuries and 4 half-centuries. The Indian batting mainstay also played a big role in helping India reach the semifinal of World Twenty20 where he won the Player of the Tournament award. He d scored 273 runs in the tournament in five games with a strike rate of 146.77.
Kohli was among the eight sportspersons who were picked for the Padma Shri awards. The other seven are- hockey captain PR Sreejesh, Rio Olympics heroes wrestler Sakshi Malik, gymnast Dipa Karmakar, Paralympian Mariyappan Thangavelu and Deepa Malik, discus thrower Vikas Gowda and blind cricket team captain Shekhar Naik.
What an absolute honor and a memorable day to receive the Padma Shri award from the President of India. God's been kind. 😇😇😇
Jai Hind 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/zh3EUkrTFl— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) March 30, 2017