Kohli follows Dhoni, Tendulkar in getting top award

Virat Kohli, the India captain, was conferred India’s highest sporting honour in a ceremony on 25 September.

Kohli became the third cricketer, after Mahendra Singh Dhoni (2007) and Sachin Tendulkar (1997-98), to win the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna. He collected the award from the President of India Ram Nath Kovind.  

Kohli, ranked No. 1 on the MRF Tyres ICC Rankings for Batsmen in both Tests and one-day internationals, was rested after India’s tour of England, where they lost the Tests 4-1, with Rohit Sharma taking over captaincy duties for the Asia Cup. Even as Kohli was collecting the honour, his teammates were getting ready to take on Afghanistan in their Super Four match. Meanwhile, India Women’s Smriti Mandhana was among the 20 sportspersons chosen for the Arjuna award, which also recognises sporting achievement for the year. She became the 10th female cricketer to win the award. “It definitely motivates me to be a better player and perform well,” she said recently.

Mandhana, though, was unable to collect the award in person, as she was involved in the Twenty20 International series in Sri Lanka, which India won 4-0.

Among the Dronacharya Award-winners for the year, which recognises the contributions of coaches, was Tarak Sinha, a former coach for India Women and a grassroots legend who has tutored the likes of Rishabh Pant, Shikhar Dhawan, Anjum Chopra and Ashish Nehra in Delhi.