WATCH: Virat Kohli receives Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award

Virat Kohli receives Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award: Indian captain Virat Kohli becomes the third cricketer to win the prestigious award.

Virat Kohli, captain of India’s cricket team in all formats of the game, has been conferred with the reputable Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award. In the National Sports Awards held earlier in the day, Kohli was named the awardee alongside weightlifter Mirabai Chanu.

The awards are given to athletes for their performance in the last year. Kohli has become the third cricketer to be presented with this award. Before him, Sachin Tendulkar (1997) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (2007) have bagged the award. It is learnt that the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) had been recommending Kohli’s name since 2016 but athletes from other sports had bagged the award in the last two years.

Kohli has scored over 18,000 runs across formats at the highest level. At 29, he has also scored 58 centuries for India. If he continues to play in the way he has played so far, he is all in likeliness to become one of the greatest cricketers ever.

The Khel Ratna Award is the highest sporting honour of the Republic of India. It is awarded annually to usually a couple of athletes. The award is named after former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Watch the video of Kohli receiving the award from the President of the country:

 

Video:#NationalSportsAwards2018 : Indian cricket captain @imVkohli receives #RajivGandhiKhelRatnaAward , 2018 pic.twitter.com/Y0ZI37Qlxr

— Captain (@Virat4everr) September 25, 2018

After receiving the award, Kohli took to Twitter to express his gratitude on being selected for this honour. Watch his tweet below:

 

Humbled to have received the Khel Ratna from our Honourable President. 🙌🏻 🇮🇳 #JaiHind https://t.co/w7tDaNVe8V

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) September 25, 2018

Watching Kohli receive the award, social media platform Twitter was filled with various reactions regarding the same. Read some of the tweets below:

 

Congrats @imVkohli for receiving prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award #NationalSportsAwards2018 #TeamIndia

— Faizur Rahman (@FaizurRahman28) September 25, 2018

वेटलिफ्टर 🏋️‍♀️#MirabaiChanu @mirabai_chanu
और
भारतीय🇮🇳 पुरुष क्रिकेट🏏 टीम के कप्तान @imVkohli #RajivGandhiKhelRatna से सम्मानित #Congratulations#nationalSportsAwards2018

— नीतू 🙏🏼 (@Nitu797) September 25, 2018

Congratulations to World Champion Weightlifter #MirabaiChanu @mirabai_chanu and Indian cricket captain #ViratKohli @imVkohli for the #KhelRatnaAward. President Ram Nath Kovind @rashtrapatibhvn presents#NationalSportsAwards2018 at Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi. pic.twitter.com/b3Ypwd5EXH

— Pratap Simha (@mepratap) September 25, 2018

Congrats Virat Kohli for receiving prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 👏👏👏well deserving💙we all are so proud of you🙌 @imVkohli #KhelRatna #TeamIndia #ViratKohli#nationalsportsawards2018

— P a l l a v i (@pallzie) September 25, 2018

@imVkohli is 3rd Cricketer to receive #KhelRatna award after Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni.#nationalSportsAwards2018 pic.twitter.com/CHUSD0mmRV

— Virat Kohli FanTeam™ (@ViratFanTeam) September 25, 2018

🇮🇳🥇Congratulations to @imVkohli on being conferred with the prestigious Khel Ratna Award by the President today.#viratkohli #khelratnaaward #teamindia #NationalSportsAwards2018 #cricket #sportwalk pic.twitter.com/sWhI6G1ALe

— #teamindia 🇮🇳 (@teamindiasports) September 25, 2018

If today Prem Kohli Sir be alive,noone be happy more than him. His struggle to make Virat cricketer,he be his biggest support system. Virat made his dad proud again. Congo #ViratKohli . #RajivGandhiKhelRatnaAward #NationalSportsAwards2018

— Dipsikha Ray (@dipsikharay15) September 25, 2018