Published: Sep 20, 2017, 02:17 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 20, 2017, 02:17 PM (IST)
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has nominated MS Dhoni for Padma Bhushan — India’s third highest civilian award. Dhoni, who stepped down from captaincy in January this year, is regarded as one of India’s most successful captains. He has led India to win titles such as ICC World T20 (2007), ICC Champions Trophy (2013) and the coveted Cricket World Cup (2011). Apart from captaincy, Dhoni is also regarded as one of the finest wicketkeepers in the game, and also the most dependable middle-order batsmen. For his contribution to Indian cricket, BCCI unanimously decided to nominate Dhoni, reports suggest. READ: MS Dhoni enters Sachin Tendulkar’s illustrious club
“Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been nominated by the BCCI for the Padma Bhushan award,” a top BCCI official told PTI. “There was no doubt among the members that Dhoni has impeccable credentials. Two World titles (2011 50-over World Cup and 2007 World T20), nearly 10,000 runs, 90 Test matches. There is no one better than him, who could have been nominated,” he added.
Dhoni will be the 11th cricketer and the first since Sachin Tendulkar if he gets the award. Other cricketers who have received it include Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid, Chandu Borde, Prof DB Deodhar, Col CK Nayudu, and Lala Amarnath.
Earlier, Dhoni received Arjuna, Rajeev Gandhi Khel Ratna and the Padma Shri awards for his brilliant performance in the field of cricket.
Dhoni has scored 9737 runs in 302 ODIs besides 4876 runs in 90 Test matches. He represented India in 78 T20 Internationals, scoring 1212 runs. He has effected 162 stumpings. He has also picked up 584 catches across formats.
