The BCCI in the release said: “The Government of India’s Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports had sought invitations for the respective awards with the period of consideration beginning 1st January 2016 to 31st December 2019.
“Rohit Sharma, Team India’s vice-captain in the white-ball format has been a prolific run-getter. Named the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year for 2019, the stylish opener became the first player in the history of the game to score five ODI centuries in one edition of the World Cup. He is also the first batsman to score four T20I centuries and is the first player to have twin centuries in his maiden appearance as a Test opener.
“Shikhar Dhawan holds the record for the fastest Test century on debut and is the only batsman in the world to have won two consecutive golden bats (for most runs) in the ICC Champions Trophy. He is also the quickest Indian batsman to reach 2,000 and 3,000 runs in ODIs and second-fastest Indian to score 4,000 and 5,000 runs in ODIs.
“The youngest Indian to play all three formats of the game, Ishant Sharma has been leading the Indian pace bowling attack and holds the record for most wickets by an Indian pacer outside Asia. A top-class all-rounder, Deepti Sharma holds the record for the highest individual WODI score by an Indian player and is also the only Indian spinner to take 6 WODI wickets.”
Commenting on the picks, Sourav Ganguly, President, BCCI said: “We went through a lot of data and considered various parameters before shortlisting the nominees.
“Rohit Sharma has set new benchmarks as a batsman and achieved scores people thought were not possible in the shorter formats of the game. We feel he is worthy of getting the prestigious Khel Ratna award for his commitment, conduct, consistency and his leadership skills.
“Ishant Sharma is the most senior member of the Test squad and his contribution has been vital in Indian team’s long run as the No 1 Test side. Fast bowlers are prone to injuries and Ishant has had a fair share of them but he has fought hard to be back on the park every time. Shikhar has been consistently scoring at the top and his performances in the ICC events have been significant. Deepti is a genuine all-rounder and her contribution to the team has been vital.”
Meanwhile, star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra was recommended for the Khel Ratna Award by the committee constituted by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) for the third time in a row.
The 22-year-old Chopra is the only track and field athlete to be recommended by the AFI for the country’s highest sports award this year.
Chopra has already being conferred with the Arjuna Award in 2018 after winning a gold in the Gold Coast Commonwealth. In that year, he was also recommended for the Khel Ratna. He was again recommended for the Khel Ratna last year after winning gold in the 2018 Asian Games.
The Khel Ratna Award carries a medallion, a certificate and a cash prize of Rs 7.5 lakh. Top sprinter Dutee Chand, who won a gold in the World University Games in 2019 and two silver medals in the 2018 Asian Games (one each in 100m and 200m), has already been recommended for the Arjuna Award by the Odisha government.
Chopra has already qualified for the Tokyo Olympics with a throw of 87.86m in South Africa in January in his first competition after recovering from an elbow injury.
