The Cricket Board has recommended India's ODI and Twenty20 captain
Mahendra Singh Dhoni for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna
award, the highest honour for any sportsperson in the country.
BCCI Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty said the board has already
forwarded its recommendation to the Sports Ministry.
"Yes, we have forwarded Dhoni's name for the country's highest sports
award for 2007," Shetty said.
Under Dhoni, India won the tri-series in Australia and also the Twenty20 World
Cup in South Africa.
In case Dhoni manages to win the award, he would be the second cricketer to
get the honour, following Sachin Tendulkar, who won it in 1997-98.
The President will give away the award, along with Arjuna and Dronacharya awards,
at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on August 29.
Since its inception, the list of Khel Ratna awardees also include Viswanathan
Anand (chess), Geet Sethi (billiards), K Malleswari (weightlifting), Leander
Paes (tennis), N Kunjarani (weightlifting), Jyotirmoyee Sikdar (athletics),
Dhanraj Pillay (hockey), P Gopichand (badminton), Abhinav Bindra (shooting),
Anjali Bhagwat (shooting) Anju Bobby George (athletics), Rajyavardhan Singh
Rathore (shooting), Pankaj Advani (billiards and snooker) and Manavjit Singh
(shooting).
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