Virat Kohli Conferred with Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award

Team India skipper, Virat Kohli was conferred with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award by the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday.

Virat received the award alongside weightlifter Mirabai Chanu. However, the annual National Sports Awards got conducted for some of the best athletes the country has seen in the past year or so. There is no doubt about the fact that Virat Kohli is one of the most prominent faces in world cricket at the moment.

Meanwhile, Virat Kohli is the 3^rd cricketer to get awarded the Khel Ratna Award after Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. While Tendulkar was bestowed the award back in 1997, MS Dhoni was presented with the award in 2007.

Initially, The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had recommended Kohli’s name for the past three years. He missed out in 2016 as athletes participating in the Olympics were preferred ahead of him. Wrestler Sakshi Malik, shuttler PV Sindhu and gymnast Deepa Karmakar were nominated for that year.

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Congratulations to #TeamIndia Captain @imVkohli on being conferred upon with the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award by the President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind.

Full video?https://t.co/Y302AKgNN1 pic.twitter.com/opcMMEj3Q1

— BCCI (@BCCI) September 25, 2018

Last year the award went to the hockey player, Sardar Singh and para-athlete, Devendra Jhajaria. However, there was no stopping Virat Kohli in 2018.

Virat Kohli is the greatest modern-day batsman by far

Virat Kohli has been the greatest batsman of the modern generation by quite a margin. His record in all three formats of the game speaks volume about a man who has done everything possible in such a brief period. In the last two years, he has made himself one of the fittest cricketers in the world.

In the recent tour of England, Kohli finished as the leading run-getter among both the sides. After a horrendous trip back in 2014, he was mocked on social media by the English tabloids.

However, Virat went on to smash 593 runs in the five-match series with a couple of centuries and three half-centuries. Despite his efforts, India went onto lose the series by a 4-1 margin.

However, the India captain has been rested for the ongoing Asia Cup 2018 to manage his workload. In his absence, Rohit Sharma is leading the side.

Meanwhile, Kohli should be back in the Indian team for the two-match Test series against the Windies. Moreover, he just took an off to recover from the back stiffness which he had during the England tour.