Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma. Photo Credit: Getty Images.

Rohit Sharma, on Sunday, said he is honoured and humbled to be nominated for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Award. The BCCI announced the news on Saturday. In addition to nominating Rohit Sharma for the Khel Ratna, the boardhas also nominated Ishant Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan as well as India women team star Deepti Sharma for the Arjuna Awards.

Rohit Sharma earned the nomination after a stunning 2019 with the bat. The right-handed batsman had his best year in terms of statistics across formats especially in ODIs. He finished the year as the highest run-scorer in the 50-over format, scoring a staggering 1,490 runs in ODIs including seven hundreds – the most by any player in the calendar year.

Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma (Credits: Twitter)

He was in phenomenal form during India’s run to the semifinals of the 2019 ODI World Cup, where he finished top-scorer with 648 runs. Rohit Sharma had also scored a record five centuries in the competition. Earlier this year, he was named ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year.

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The Mumbai batsman had a revival in Test cricket too when he was promoted to the opening slot during the series against South Africa. He struck two hundreds in his maiden outing as a Test opener before adding a double century to his name in the Ranchi Test. Overall, his 2019 across formats reads 2,442 runs at an average of 53 with 10 hundreds.

Rohit Sharma reacts:

Delighted with the nomination, Rohit Sharma said he is honoured. He also thanked the cricket fraternity and his family for the support.

“I am extremely honoured and humbled to be nominated by the BCCI for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award which is the highest sporting honour in India. I am grateful to BCCI, to all my teammates, support staff, fans of the game and my family for sticking by me. Thank You very much,” said Rohit Sharma in a video posted by the BCCI.

Rohit Sharma could become only the fourth cricketer to win the prestigious award. The three cricketers to have won this award so far are Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli.

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