Indian cricketer Virat Kohli extended his congratulations to fellow teammate Mohammed Shami for being honored with the prestigious Arjuna Award. Shami, renowned as India's premier fast-bowler, received the award from President Draupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in Delhi on Tuesday, January 9. The recognition was a result of Shami's outstanding performance in the ODI World Cup 2023, where he emerged as the highest wicket-taker with 24 wickets in seven matches.
Expressing his gratitude on Instagram, Shami wrote, “Today I am feeling very proud that I have been honored with the prestigious Arjuna Award by the President. I want to thank all those people who have helped me a lot to reach here and have always supported me in my ups and downs... thanks to My Coach, BCCI,team mates,my family, staff and big thanks to my fans..Thanks to recognise my hard work..I will always try to give my best to make my country proud... Again thanks to everyone.. Congratulations to others arjun award winners.”
In response to Shami's post, Virat Kohli commented, 'Mubarak ho lala' (Congratulations, brother), lauding Shami's achievement. Notably, Kohli and Rohit Sharma are among the previous recipients of the prestigious award, with Kohli having received it in 2014 for his significant contributions to Indian sports.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recommended Shami for the Arjuna Award following his stellar performance in the ODI World Cup. Shami's exceptional bowling skills were highlighted as he secured four five-wicket hauls after being initially benched for the first four matches of the World Cup.
In a year dominated by athletes from the Asian Games 2023, a total of 26 sportspersons were honored with the Arjuna Award for their outstanding performances in 2023. Shami stood out as the sole cricketer to receive the award this year.
The list of Arjuna Awardees includes prominent names across various sports:
- Mohammed Shami (Cricket)
- Ajay Reddy (Blind Cricket)
- Ojas Pravin Deotale (Archery)
- Aditi Gopichand Swami (Archery)
- Sheetal Devi (Para Archery)
- Parul Chaudhary and Murali Sreeshankar (Athletics)
- Mohd Hussamuddin (Boxing)
- R Vaishali (Chess)
- Divyakriti Singh and Anush Agarwalla (Equestrian)
- Diksha Dagar (Golf)
- Krishan Bahadur Pathak (Hockey)
- Sushila Chanu (Hockey)
- Pinky (Lawn Ball)
- Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar (Shooting)
- Antim Panghal (Wrestling)
- Ayhika Mukherjee (Table Tennis)
