Cricket / Proud moment: Kohli on Rohit, Ishant, Deepti being conferred Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award

India skipper Virat Kohli took to Twitter to congratulate Rohit Sharma, Ishant Sharma and Deepti Sharma on being conferred with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and the Arjuna Award respectively. Kohli, who's himself a recipient of the Khel Ratna, said that it's a "proud moment to remember for each sportsperson". Rohit is fourth cricketer to be conferred Khel Ratna.

NDTV : Aug 23, 2020, 07:55 AM

New Delhi: Indian skipper Virat Kohli on Saturday took to Twitter to congratulate his teammates Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma for being selected for this year's National Sports Awards. While Rohit has been selected for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award -- country's highest sporting honour, Test fast bowler Ishant Sharma is set to receive Arjuna Award. Kohli, who is currently in Dubai for IPL 2020, also congratulated women's cricketer Deepti Sharma for winning Arjuna Award. The RCB skipper, in his post, also wished all the other sportspersons who have been selected for various national sports awards.

"Congratulations @ImIshant and @ImRo45 for your respective Arjuna and Khel Ratna Awards and to @Deepti_Sharma06 for her Arjuna Award as well. Big congratulations to all the other winners across different sports. Proud moment to remember for each sportsperson," Kohli tweeted.

Kohli has himself experienced the proud feeling of winning both these awards as he was conferred with the Arjuna Award in 2013, while he was bestowed with the highest sporting honour five years later in 2018. Incidentally, Rohit won the Arjuna Award in 2015 -- two years after Kohli, and will be receiving the Khel Ratna in 2020 -- that too a couple of years after Kohli.

Besides Rohit, four other players who won this year's Khel Ratna are para athlete T Mariyappan, table tennis player Manika Batra, women wrestler Vinesh Phogat and Indian women's hockey captain Rani Rampal.

Ishant, the senior-most fast bowler in India's Test bowling line-up, is among the 27 sportspersons who will be receiving the Arjuna Award.

Ever since the Sports Ministry announced winners' names on Friday, wishes have poured in large numbers. Earlier in the day, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) wished all three cricketers for making the country proud with their outstanding achievements.

Wishing Rohit, the BCCI tweeted: "Congratulations @ImRo45 for being conferred with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, 2020, India's highest sporting honour. He is only the fourth Indian cricketer to receive this award. We are proud of you, Hitman!".

Three cricketers who won this prestigious award before Rohit are batting great Sachin Tendulkar, former wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni and current Indian skipper Virat Kohli.