Published: Jun 27, 2013, 07:57 PM (IST)
Edited: Jun 27, 2013, 07:57 PM (IST)
The BCCI did not find any cricketer fitting to be nominated for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award © Getty Images
New Delhi: Jun 27, 2013
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) this year hasn’t forwarded any name for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, the highest honour for active sportspersons in the country, since the cricket board didn’t find any fitting cricketer for the award.
The BCCI has recommended dashing batsman Virat Kohli‘s name for the Arjuna Award while legendary opener and former India captain Sunil Gavaskar‘s name has been recommended for the Dhyan Chand Award for lifetime achievement.
“BCCI hasn’t sent any names for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award as it didn’t find anyone who is fitting to get this award this year. There is absolutely no point in sending a recommendation just for the sake of it. The BCCI found out that Virat Kohli and Sunil Gavaskar are the two deserving names for the Arjuna and Dhayn Chand award,” a senior BCCI official told PTI on Thursday.
Incidentally, former captain Rahul Dravid‘s name was doing the rounds last year for Khel Ratna award, but he didn’t get it, which many thought was due to the absence of BCCI representative Ravi Shastri during the awards committee meeting.
However, Shastri later clarified that he didn’t get any formal invite from the sports ministry to attend the meeting.
Last year, wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt and shooter Vijay Kumar got the Khel Ratna award for winning medals at the 2012 London Olympics.
Dravid, received the Padma Bhusan award, the third highest civilian honour in the country, earlier this year.
Kohli, who has had a prolific run in all forms of the game in the last couple of years, missed out on the Arjuna nomination last year as Yuvraj Singh got the award on basis of his seniority and exploits in the successful 2011 World Cup.
