Indian cricketers Mithali Raj and Shikhar Dhawan were conferred at the Rashtrapati Bhawan alongside other Indian sportspersons on Saturday. While Mithali Raj won the Major Dhyanchand Khel Ratna, Dhawan was awarded the Arjuna Award by President Ram Nath Kovind. The Union Ministry had earlier released a list of sportspersons who were to be awarded on the prestigious night. Both the Indian cricketers were on that list.

While Shikhar Dhawan have been a part of many memorable Indian victories and played a part in them, Mithali Raj tops the run-scoring charts in ODI & T20I cricket. She made her debut in 1999 and her career spans over two decades now.

Mithali has so far represented India in 11 Tests, 215 ODIs and 89 T20Is so far in her career. Raj has scored a combined 10,203 runs across formats including eight centuries and 77 half-centuries.

President Ram Nath Kovind confers Major Dhyan Chand #KhelRatnaAward 2021 on Cricketer Mithali Raj!

LIVE Stream here https://t.co/yKUBRZIa97 pic.twitter.com/oREIGFiSrv

— Doordarshan Sports (@ddsportschannel) November 13, 2021

Mithali has also reacted to her winning the prestigious award by releasing a statement.

“Today I am honoured, proud and fortunate to be a part of Indian cricket. This journey has been arduous but bot without the support of my mentors, family, friends and senior who paved the way for all of us and my teammaytes” read a part of her statement.

Mithali Raj Releases Statement After Historic Achievement

Truly honoured and grateful to receive the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award pic.twitter.com/79HZOV9Uox

— Mithali Raj (@M_Raj03) November 13, 2021

Meanwhile, Shikhar Dhawan was nominated by the BCCI for the prestigious awards along with his fellow opener Rohit Sharma. “Shikhar has been consistently scoring at the top and his performances in the ICC events have been significant,” Ganguly said on the southpaw’s nomination.

President Ram Nath Kovind confers #ArjunaAward 2021 on #TeamIndia batter Shikhar Dhawan!

LIVE Stream here https://t.co/yKUBRZIa97 pic.twitter.com/qsBqqKrnns

— Doordarshan Sports (@ddsportschannel) November 13, 2021

Shikhar was a part of the Indian squad that won the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013. That was when he and Rohit Sharma started opening the batting for India. With time, they became one of the most feared opening pairs in world cricket.

Apart from the two cricketers, Indian athlete Neeraj Chopra was also awarded the Khel Ratna award from the President. Chopra had won the gold medal for India earlier this year in Tokyo Olympics 2020.

The post Indian Cricketers Mithali Raj & Shikhar Dhawan Honoured With National Sports Awards appeared first on Cricfit.

Rohit Sharma became only the fourth cricketer to win the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award. Rohit joined the like of Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli to be conferred with the highest sporting honour in the country.

Meanwhile, the vice-captain of India in white-ball cricket was the leading run-scorer in the 2019 cricket world cup. He also received the ICC ODI player of the year award for his outstanding performances in 50 over cricket.

Kohli congratulates Rohit

The 33-year-old will return to cricket in the upcoming IPL season that will be played in the UAE. Rohit will be leading 4 time and defending champions Mumbai Indians in IPL 2020.

Soon after the announcement, the Indian captain Virat Kohli congratulated his teammate Rohit on social media after he joined an elite list. Kohli also congratulated Ishant Sharma and Deepti Sharma who bagged the Arjuna Award.

“Congratulations @ImIshant and @ImRo45 for your respective Arjuna and Khel Ratna Awards Clapping hands sign and to @Deepti_Sharma06 for her Arjuna Award as well.Big congratulations to all the other winners across different sports. A proud moment to remember for each sportsperson”, Kohli wrote. 

Congratulations @ImIshant and @ImRo45 for your respective Arjuna and Khel Ratna Awards and to @Deepti_Sharma06 for her Arjuna Award as well. Big congratulations to all the other winners across different sports. Proud moment to remember for each sportsperson.

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) August 22, 2020

Meanwhile, Virat Kohli received the Khel Ratna award back in 2018 and joined an exclusive list. The 31-year-old is currently in the United Arab Emirates for the forthcoming IPL season. The RCB skipper and all other players and coaching staff of the franchise landed in Dubai yesterday for their mandatory quarantine period.

Moreover, Rohit also took to social media and posted a short video and thanked all his well wishes for their constant support throughout his career after winning the honour.

“Thank you for all your wishes and lots of love”, Rohit wrote from his official Twitter handle.

Thank you for all your wishes and lots of love. pic.twitter.com/vbKaTbfwd7

— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) August 22, 2020

Apart from Rohit Sharma, the Sports Ministry has also concluded the names of para-athlete Mariappan Thangavelu, table tennis champion Manika Batra, wrestler Vinesh Phogat and hockey player Rani Rampal for Khel Ratna.

The post Virat Kohli Congratulates Rohit Sharma On Winning Khel Ratna Award appeared first on Cricfit.