MS Dhoni nominated for Padma Bhushan award by BCCI
Story highlights
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has nominated Mahendra Singh Dhoni for the Padma Bhushan -- for his contribution to the game of cricket.
The cricket board has not sent any other nomination Padma awards this year and it was a unanimous decision to name Dhoni, India's most successful captain, a senior BCCI official said.
The top official of the BCCI said MS Dhoni's credentials are impeccable and as the only Indian captain with two World titles -- he led the Indian team to victory in the 2011 50-over World Cup and the World Cup T20 in 2007 -- the BCCI did not have to ponder over likely names.
"Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been nominated by the BCCI for the Padma Bhushan award. It was a unanimous decision by the members. He has been one of the greatest names in contemporary cricket and the most appropriate choice of the Indian cricket board," BCCI acting president CK Khanna told PTI today.
"He is one of our greatest One Day International (ODI) cricketer with nearly 10,000 runs. Not many players have played 90 Test matches. There is no one better than him, who could have been nominated," Khanna added.
The Padma Bhushan, the country's third highest civilian awards, are given for excellence in any field.
MS Dhoni, 36, has scored 9737 runs in 302 ODIs and 4876 runs in 90 Test matches. He has also notched up 1212 runs in 78 T20 Internationals.
He has 16 international hundreds (Six in Tests and 10 in ODIs) to his credit along with 100 international half-centuries, a milestone he achieved last week.
As a wicketkeeper, Dhoni has held 584 catches across formats (256 in Tests, 285 in ODIs and 43 in T20 Internationals). He has also effected 163 stumpings.
The former Team India skipper is already a recipient of the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and the Padma Shri award.
If he is conferred with Padma Bhushan, he will become the 11th Indian cricketer to get the third highest civilian honour.
Other cricket greats who have received the Padma Bhushan include Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid, Chandu Borde, Prof DB Deodhar, Col CK Nayudu, and Lala Amarnath.
Raja Bhalindra Singh of Patiala, who played 13 first-class matches, and Vijaya Anand -- the Maharaja of Vizianagram, who was India's captain during their 1936 tour to England, are also in the list of Padma Bhushan recipients.