The National Awards in Cricket are given to sportspersons of India by the Central Government. The Ministry of Youth Affairs of sports and games grants these sports awards annually on 29th August at the Presidential Palace.
As of 2021, 73 Cricketers have been awarded these various national sports awards in cricket. Usually, The President of India presents these Indian sports awards in cricket on 29th August every year in the same ceremony held at the Presidential Palace.
Table of Contents
How many awards in cricket
The four types of Indian awards in cricket are-
*Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna
* Arjuna Award
* Dronacharya Award and
*Dhyan Chand Award.
These are important awards in cricket. The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award was renamed Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna by the Indian Government on Aug 2021. The National Sports Awards list in India is explained in detail below with the award history, its Prize money and recipients list.
1. Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna:
The Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna is the highest award of sports in India awarded to sportspersons in India for their dynamic and outstanding performance in sports specialization at International level competitions.
Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award in Sports and Games, formerly known as Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, was instituted in 1991 in the name of the former Prime Minister of India, Mr. Rajiv Gandhi. This award is conferred annually to sportspeople to encourage their spirit for their success ahead.
Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award carries the honor of a medal, a certificate, and a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh. The Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports has situated a twelve-member selection committee to decide the winners in each specialised sports area.
In 2021 Mithali Raj was awarded the Major Dhyan Chand Award in cricket. Honestly, it was a historic moment for the sportsperson.
As of 2021, 5 Cricketers, including 1 women batsman, got the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award; here’s the list of Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna recipients.
| Sr. No | Year | Recipients | Sports |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1997–1998 | Sachin Tendulkar | Cricket |
| 2 | 2007 | Mahendra Singh Dhoni | Cricket |
| 3 | 2018 | Virat Kohli | Cricket |
| 4 | 2020 | Rohit Sharma | Cricket |
| 5 | 2021 | Mithali Raj | Cricket |
2. Arjuna Award :
The Arjuna Award is the second-highest sporting honour in India, instituted in 1961. The award is given to the sportsperson or team of India by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports for their superior performance at the international level of cricket over the last four years for showing their qualities of leadership, a sense of discipline and sportsmanship.
This award accolades sportspeople of various sports disciplines every year, comprising a bronze statuette of Arjuna, a scroll of honour, a ceremonial dress, and a cash prize of purse ₹15 lakh till 2021.
The Arjuna Award of India was the first award, the Highest Sporting Honor of India before major Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna (introduced in 1991), given to the sportsperson as the award was instituted in 1961. It continues to be awarded every year by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The first Arjuna award winner in cricket was Salim Durani, the first Indian cricketer and Shantha Rangaswamy was the first woman batsman recipient of the Arjuna Award.
The Arjuna award is named after the character Arjuna from ancient India’s Sanskrit epic MAHABHARATA, a sign of Hard Work, Dedication, and Concentration.
As of 2021, 60 Cricketers got the Arjuna Award are listed below-
| Firstname | Lastname | Sports | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shikhar | Dhawan | Cricket | 2021 |
| Deepti | Sharma | Cricket | 2020 |
| Ishant | Sharma | Cricket | 2020 |
| Ravindra | Jadeja | Cricket | 2019 |
| Poonam | Yadav | Cricket | 2019 |
| Smriti | Mandhana | Cricket | 2018 |
| Harmanpreet | Kaur | Cricket | 2017 |
| Cheteshwar | Pujara | Cricket | 2017 |
| Ajinkya | Rahane | Cricket | 2016 |
| Rohit | Sharma | Cricket | 2015 |
| Ravichandran | Ashwin | Cricket | 2014 |
| Virat | Kohli | Cricket | 2013 |
| Yuvraj | Singh | Cricket | 2012 |
| Zaheer | Khan | Cricket | 2011 |
| Jhulan | Goswami | Cricket | 2010 |
| Gautam | Gambhir | Cricket | 2009 |
| Anjum | Chopra | Cricket | 2006 |
| Anju | Jain | Cricket | 2005 |
| Mithali | Raj | Cricket | 2003 |
| Harbhajan | Singh | Cricket | 2003 |
| Virender | Sehwag | Cricket | 2002 |
| VVS | Laxman | Cricket | 2001 |
| Venkatesh | Prasad | Cricket | 2000 |
| Rahul | Dravid | Cricket | 1998 |
| Nayan | Mongia | Cricket | 1998 |
| M. | Mahadev | Cricket | 1997 |
| Sourav | Ganguly | Cricket | 1997 |
| Ajay | Jadeja | Cricket | 1997 |
| Kalle | Gowda | cricket | 1996 |
| Javagal | Srinath | Cricket | 1996 |
| Anil | Kumble | Cricket | 1995 |
| Sachin | Tendulkar | Cricket | 1994 |
| Kiran | More | Cricket | 1993 |
| Manoj | Prabhakar | Cricket | 1993 |
| Madan | Lal | Cricket | 1989 |
| Sandhya | Agarwal | Cricket | 1986 |
| Mohammad | Azharuddin | Cricket | 1986 |
| Shubhangi | Kulkarni | Cricket | 1985 |
| Ravi | Shastri | Cricket | 1984 |
| Diana | Edulji | Cricket | 1983 |
| Mohinder | Amarnath | Cricket | 1982 |
| Dilip | Vengsarkar | Cricket | 1981 |
| Chetan | Chauhan | Cricket | 1980-1981 |
| Syed | Kirmani | Cricket | 1980-1981 |
| Kapil | Dev | Cricket | 1979-1980 |
| Gundappa | Viswanath | Cricket | 1977-1978 |
| Shantha | Rangaswamy | Cricket | 1976 |
| Sunil | Gavaskar | Cricket | 1975 |
| Anjan | Bhattacharjee | Cricket | 1974 |
| B.S | Chandrashekhar | Cricket | 1972 |
| Eknath | Solkar | Cricket | 1972 |
| Srinivasaraghavan | Venkataraghavan | Cricket | 1971 |
| Dilip | Sardesai | Cricket | 1970 |
| Bishan | Singh Bedi | Cricket | 1969 |
| E.A.S | Prasanna | Cricket | 1968 |
| Ajit | Wadekar | Cricket | 1967 |
| Chandu | Borde | Cricket | 1966 |
| Vijay | Manjrekar | Cricket | 1965 |
| Mansoor | Ali Khan Pataudi | Cricket | 1964 |
| Salim | Durani | Cricket | 1961 |
3. Dronacharya Award :
The Dronacharya Award is the Sports Coaching Honor of India, awarded to the Best Coaches for their excellent mentoring in sports and games.
The Dronacharya Award was initiated in 1985 by the Government of India to identify greatness in sports coaching and is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The Dronacharya Award is given out for recent accomplishments (cash prize of Rs. 10 Lacs) and lifetime achievements (cash prize of Rs. 15 Lacs). The award carries a bronze statue of Dronacharya, a certificate, a Ceremonial Dress and a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh.
The Dronacharya Award was named after Guru Dron or Dronacharya’s character from ancient India’s Sanskrit epic MAHABHARATA. The Kauravas and the Pandavas Master Donacharya were very famous and provided training for Divine weapons in Tretayug of Krishna Avtar.
A Ten-member committee is appointed to select the winners in sports discipline by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The Coaches are honored for their outstanding coaching and consistent Excellent work to enable the Sportspersons achievements at the International level over four years.
The Selection Committee recommends the coaches’ names, receiving the highest aggregate marks in a particular sports discipline to the Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports for further approval. The points given to Coaches for Winning Medals at the international level by their Trainee during the Last
In 2021, Sarkar Talwar was awarded a Dronacharya award with a cash prize of Rs. 15 Lacs for lifetime achievements in cricket.
As of 2021, 8 Cricket coaches have accolades for the Dronacharya Award. Here’s the list of Dronacharya Award recipients.
| Sr. No | Recipients | Year | Sports |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sarkar Talwar | 2021 | Cricket |
| 2 | Sanjay Bhardwaj | 2019 | Cricket |
| 3 | Tarak Sinha | 2018 | Cricket |
| 4 | Rajkumar Sharma | 2016 | Cricket |
| 5 | Sunita Sharma | 2004 | Cricket |
| 6 | Ramakant Achrekar | 1990 | Cricket |
| 7 | Gurcharan Singh | 1987 | Cricket |
| 8 | Desh Prem Azad | 1986 | Cricket |
4. Dhyan Chand Award :
The Dhyan Chand Award is the sporting honour of India given for lifetime achievement. The Dhyan Chand Award was started giving from 2002 and is awarded annually to the sportsperson of India by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports for their Lifetime Career Achievement in Sports and Games.
The award came after an Indian hockey player, Major Dhyan Chand scored over 1000 goals in his lifetime, which was more than 20 years.
The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has appointed a committee to select recipients and honor them for their efforts or achievement in sports both during active sporting careers and after their retirement.
As of 2021, the award includes a statue of Major Dhyan Chand, a ceremonial dress, a certificate, and a prize money of ₹10 lakh.
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