Photo Credit: Twitter Photo of @BCCI
Rohit Sharma, Ishant Sharma and Deepti Sharma added a feather in their cap after they were conferred with the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Arjuna Award respectively on Friday.
Rohit became only the fourth Indian cricketer after Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli to bag the award. The right-handed batsman had a stellar World Cup 2019 and went on to score 648 runs, with the help of record-breaking five hundreds during India’s run to the semi-final.
Rohit, who was named the ICC ODI Cricketer of The Year 2019, also went on to become the first batsman to score twin tons in his first Test as an opener last year.
Ishant, who holds the record for most Test wickets for an Indian pacer outside Asia, became the first Indian to return with a five-wicket haul. The right-arm bowler currently ranks third in the list of Indian pacers, with 297 Test wickets against his name.
Deepti, who is the fastest Indian to have an ODI double of 1000 runs and 50 wickets, is the only Indian spinner to take 6 wickets in WODIs and has the highest individual score for an Indian in WODIs.
While Ishant scalped 26 wickets across 6 Tests in 2019, Deepti, who was a member of the Indian side which reached the Women’s T20 World Cup 2020, picked up 34 wickets across WODIs and WT20Is.
Wishes poured in for the trio as the likes of Yuvraj Singh, Ravi Shastri, Suresh Raina, Mithali Raj, WV Raman, Shikhar Dhawan, Mohammad Kaif, Ajinkya Rahane, IPL teams Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals were amongst the many who congratulated the three for winning the national sports awards.
Name of Author: BCCI
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), headquartered in Mumbai, is India’s main cricket governing body and the wealthiest globally. The BCCI focuses on talent development, infrastructure, and player welfare to enhance India’s international performance.