The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will be recommending off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and India eve skipper Mithali Raj’s names for this year’s Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award which is the highest sporting honour in the country.
According to ANI reports, batsmen KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan and fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah’s names will be recommended for the Arjuna Award.
Ashwin who was a part of the World Cup-winning Indian team in 2011 and the Champions Trophy-winning side in the 2013 edition has featured in 79 Tests for India and has 413 scalps to his name.
Apart from this, the right-hander has also notched up five centuries in the longer format. The off-spinner has been capped 111 times in ODIs picking up 150 wickets while has played 46 T20Is for the team where he has 52 dismissals to his name.
The right-handed batter Mithali recently completed 22 years of her career and became the only woman cricketer to achieve the feat. She made her debut back on June 26, 1999.
Mithali has played 215 ODIs so far for India and has struck over 7000 runs. The right-hander has also featured in 89 T20Is for the side scoring more than 2300 runs and has played 11 Tests.
The last date of submission of application for the National Sports Awards 2021 was earlier extended by the Union Sports Ministry.
India captain Virat Kohli, his limited-overs deputy Rohit Sharma, World Cup-winning captain MS Dhoni and former India batsman Sachin Tendulkar have been honoured with the award.