New Delhi: Board of Cricket Control India (BCCI) on Saturday decided to nominate former Indian captain Rahul Dravid for prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, while 2011 World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh will be recommended for Arjuna Award. The BCCI will forward the name to the Sports Ministry next week.

The nomination ended on April 30 but after some spat between the Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs and BCCI, the Ministry made an exception for cricket and extended the last date for filing the nomination to July 20.

Rahul Dravid recently retired from all form all of international cricket and has been one of the most successful batsmen for India. Only two cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni have won the country’s highest award for sportspersons. Meanwhile, Yuvraj Singh, who was instrumental in helping India win the 2011 World Cup, has been nominated for the coveted award for the second time.

Yuvraj, who is recuperating from a rare germ cell cancer, meanwhile feels honoured to have been nominated for the prestigious award and is hoping that he wins it this time. “It is a matter of great honour for me that BCCI has nominated my name for the award. It is the second time that I have been nominated and hope that I get lucky enough this time to get,” Yuvraj told the reporters here at the launch ceremony of the ‘YouWeCan’ an initiative started by the Yuvraj Singh Foundation with an aim to combat cancer by spreading awareness about cancer detection.

By Indian Sports News Network