BCCI congratulates Kohli, Mandhana for receiving national sports awards

While Virat has successfully led India in different formats topping the batting charts, Smriti has been scoring heavily at the top of the order with much flair

The Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) congratulated Indian skipper Virat Kohli and dynamic Indian opening batswoman Smriti Mandhana on receiving the honourary Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and the Arjuna award respectively.

Virat was conferred with the highest sporting honour in the country by President Ram Nath Kovind at the National Sports Awards ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan here.

#NationalSportsAwards2018 : Indian cricket captain @imVkohli receives #RajivGandhiKhelRatnaAward , 2018 pic.twitter.com/94DuI18MwV

— Doordarshan News (@DDNewsLive) September 25, 2018

Smriti, the vice-captain of the women's T20I team, who was honoured with the Arjuna award, was absent from the ceremony as she is currently on national duty in Sri Lanka.

While Virat has successfully led India in different formats topping the batting charts, Smriti has been scoring heavily at the top of the order with much flair.

Congratulations to #TeamIndia Captain @imVkohli on being conferred upon with the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award by the President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind.

Full videohttps://t.co/Y302AKgNN1 pic.twitter.com/opcMMEj3Q1

— BCCI (@BCCI) September 25, 2018

Congratulating the duo, BCCI acting President C.K. Khanna said, “National Sports Awards are given to recognise and reward excellence in sports. Both Virat and Smriti have been excellent and it is a proud moment for the BCCI to see them get these awards.”

“Virat is the No. 1 batsman in Tests as well as ODIs and an exceptional leader. Smriti's batting skills have been appreciated by one and all and she has a knack of getting big scores outside India,” he added.