India’s vice-captain and opening batsman Rohit Sharma is among the 4 athletes who have been recommended for India’s highest sporting honour – the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award. Along with the batting superstar, wrestler medalist Vinesh Phogat, table tennis champion Manika Batra and Paralympic gold medalist Mariappan Thangavelu have been recommended for the Khel Ratna Award too.
The decision comes after the selection panel met on Tuesday for deciding the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna and other national sports awards. The recommendations are subject to approval by the Sports Minister. Once ratified by the minister, President Ram Nath Kovind will present the awards.
So far, three cricketers have received the prestigious award. Sachin Tendulkar was the first to get it in 1997 before MS Dhoni (2007) and Virat Kohli (2018) received it.
A stunning year with the bat:
Rohit Sharma has earned the nomination for the Khel Ratna after a stunning 2019 with the bat. After guiding Mumbai Indians to a record fourth IPL title, he starred in 2019 World Cup. He played a crucial role in India’s run to the semifinals of the tournament, finishing the competition as the top-scorer with 648 runs. Rohit Sharma had also scored a record five centuries in the competition.
The right-handed batsman had his best year in terms of statistics across formats especially in ODIs. He finished the year as the highest run-scorer in the 50-over format, scoring 1,490 runs in ODIs including seven hundreds – the most by any player in the calendar year. Earlier this year, he was named ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year.
He also revived his Test career after the World Cup heroics. In the last home season, he was promoted as an opener and he fully capitalised on it. He struck two hundreds in his maiden outing as a Test opener before adding a double century to his name in the Ranchi Test against South Africa. Overall, his 2019 across formats reads 2,442 runs at an average of 53 with 10 hundreds.