BCCI nominates Virat Kohli for Khel Ratna, Rahul Dravid for Dronacharya Award

The Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) has nominated Indian skipper Virat Kohli for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna honour.

BCCI has also nominated former India captain Rahul Dravid for the Dronacharya award and legendary International cricketer Sunil Gavaskar for the Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement award.

Committee of Administrators chief, Vinod Rai confirmed Dravid’s recommendation for the Dronacharya award.

“We have sent many nominations in various categories to the Indian government. Rahul has been nominated for the Dronacharya award,” Rai said in an interview.

Dravid’s nomination comes after he successfully guided the India U-19 team to 2018 ICC Cricket World Cup title earlier this year. The U-19 batch of 2016 also played World Cup final under his guidance. Moreover, he has also contributed with India A team and has acted as a bridge between International and Junior cricket.

BCCI had stopped sending nominations for Dronacharya awards as multiple coaches at times used to claim credit for a player’s success.

However, they have decided to step ahead of the conventional rule and nominate Rahul Dravid for the honour.

“For someone of Rahul’s stature, we have decided to depart from the conventional approach,” the official added.

Reportedly, BCCI has nominated Kohli’s name for the second time for the Khel Ratna. Kohli’s name was sent in 2016 but the Olympic medallists PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik and Deepa Karmakar were bestowed with the award that year.

Sunil Gavaskar has been nominated for the lifetime achievement award for his contribution as a player and as a critique of the game.

Usually, Dhyan Award is conferred to only those who have not won an Arjuna Award during their playing days. But, Gavaskar would be an exception this year as he is an Arjuna awardee.