BCCI recommends Mithali Raj for Khel Ratna

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has recommended India’s Test and ODI captain Mithali Raj for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award. Raj, who has served Indian cricket for more than 22 years, has previously received Arjuna Award in 2003 and the Padma Shri in 2015. R Ashwin, India men's cricketer, has also been recommended for he Khel Ratna.



"We had a detailed discussion and it was decided to send in the names of Ashwin and women’s Tests and ODI skipper Mithali’s name for the Khel Ratna. We are recommending Dhawan again for the Arjuna while we will also suggest the names of Rahul and Bumrah," a BCCI source was quoted as saying by ANI.



The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports had earlier decided to extend the last date of submission of application for the upcoming National Sports Award. Previously the final date for the submission was June 21.



Raj made her international debut against Ireland in June 1999. Since then she has represented India in 11 Tests, 215 ODIs and 89 T20Is, scoring 10,203 runs across all formats. She retired from the shortest format in 2019 but continues to be the captain for the ODI and Test formats.