Virat Kohli Receives Padma Shri Award At Rashtrapati Bhavan 1

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.