BCCI recommends four cricketers for the Arjuna Award

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has recommended four of its players, one female and three male cricketers for the Arjuna Award 2019. Arjuna Award is a prestigious honour bestowed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India in order to recognize outstanding achievement by athletes at various levels.

The recommended names this year are Poonam Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah. In 2018, the only cricketer to win the Arjuna Award was the vice-captain of the India Women’s T20I team Smriti Mandhana. So far a total of 53 cricketers have been honoured by the Indian government with Saleem Durani being the first to receive it in 1961.

The nominees

Poonam Yadav a leg-break bowler made her international debut in 2013 against Bangladesh. To date, she has featured in 1 Test, 41 ODIs and 54 T20I matches and has 140 international wickets to her name. The 27-year-old was a vital cog in the India Women’s team that played the final of the Women’s World Cup in 2017.

Ravindra Jadeja the 30-year-old all-rounder took the first step in international cricket in 2009 and has evolved into a reliable player across formats. To date, he has played 41 Tests, 151 Odis and 40 T20Is. In those matches, Jadeja has picked almost 400 wickets while also making valuable contributions with the bat. The highest point of his career was winning the Champions Trophy 2013 in England. Jadeja is also a part of the Indian squad that will play the World Cup 2019 in England in about a month’s time.

Mohammed Shami the right-arm fast bowler has had his share of troubles with injuries and off-field matters but continues to be a top performer for the Men in Blue. He has played 40 Tests, 63 ODIs and 7 T20Is in his career so far and accounted for 235 wickets. Shami was a part of the Indian World Cup team in 2015 that played the semi-final and has also been included for the 2019 edition of the tournament.

A product of the IPL, Jasprit Bumrah in the last few years has not only become the most consistent and successful Indian pacers but is the best in the business at the moment. Starting off as a white-ball cricketer he has also achieved tremendous success in Test matches away from home. Bumrah in his career from 10 Tests, 49 ODIs and 42 T20Is has scalped 185 wickets and is at present the No.1 ODI bowler. He will also take the field for the Indian team in the World Cup.

[interaction id=”5cc2f633bb6fb0930d179460″]

Get the latest Cricket News and updates from Indian cricket, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.