India’s legendary wicketkeeper batsman MS Dhoni conferred with the prestigious Padma Bhushan award on Thursday (January 25). The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, behind Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan.
With this highly esteemed award, Dhoni joined the elite club comprising of Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid, Chandu Borde, Prof DB Deodhar, Col CK Nayudu, Raja Bhalindra Singh, Vijaya Anand and Lala Amarnath. All the mentioned cricketers had been the recipient of this award in the past.
Former India captain @msdhoni wins prestigious Padma Bhushan award. #PadmaAwards @bcci #Cricket.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 25, 2018
Dhoni was nominated for this prestigious Padma Bhushan award by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in September 2017. It was a unanimous decision by the board. It's hardly surprising considering Dhoni’s achievement as a cricketer. The Jharkhand man is the only Indian captain to have won two world titles (2011 ODI World Cup and 2007 World T20) besides lifting the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.
As far as Dhoni’s cricket career is concerned – he has scored 9898 runs in 312 ODIs. The 36-year-old has also played 90 Test matches, notching up 4876 runs. Dhoni has amassed 16 international hundreds (six in Tests and 10 in ODIs) while batting at the lower middle order in all form of cricket. He recently completed his 100th international fifty across all formats.
