Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir received the Padma Shri Award from President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Saturday. He was one of the eight sportspersons conferred with the fourth highest civilian award.
Besides Gambhir, Indian football skipper Sunil Chhetri, archer Bombayla Devi and basketball player Prashanti Singh also received the honour from President Kovind on Saturday.
The former Indian cricketer took to his social media account to share his picture with the Indian President and thanked both his critics and supporters after receiving the honour.
“This is for all the supporters of Indian cricket and my critics. Both have played a part in my journey... someday will discuss who played more than the other,” Gambhir wrote on Twitter.
Here’s the post:
Earlier in January, Gambhir announced his retirement from all formats of the game. After representing India for almost 16 years, he is now set to start a new innings in the field of politics.
Sources have confirmed that Gambhir is set to join hands with BJP for the Lok Sabha elections. The 37-year-old lives in Rajendra Nagar, which comes under the New Delhi constituency. Currently, Meenakshi Lekhi of BJP is the elected member from that constituency but if sources are to be believed then Gambhir could well replace Lekhi in the upcoming elections.
The former India opener had been vocal against Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, time and again pulling him up for policies or the lack of it. But when it comes to standing behind the ruling BJP, Gambhir has been one step ahead, making it clear that his inclusion in the party is only a matter of time.