New Delhi: India cricket captain Virat Kohli and world champion weightlifter Mirabai Chanu were Monday jointly recommended for this year’s Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award — the country’s highest sporting honour. The 29-year-old Kohli became second-time lucky after failing to get the selection committee’s nod in 2016, a source in the awards selection committee told PTI. Kohli currently leads the ICC Test rankings for batsmen and has been in phenomenal form.
If approved by Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Kohli will become the third cricketer to get the Khel Ratna after the legendary Sachin Tendulkar (1997) and the double world cup-winning captain skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (2007). Chanu was recommended for the prestigious award following her gold medal in 48kg category at the World Championships last year. She also bagged the yellow metal in this year’s Commonwealth Games but didn’t compete at the Asian Games due to injury. A source in the committee told PTI that shuttler Kidambi Srikanth’s name was also been discussed.
