Cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni and shuttler PV Sindhu were nominated for Padma Bhushan awards by the Indian cricket board and the sports ministry respectively. A BCCI official said they had sent only one name for the Padma awards this year and it was a unanimous decision to nominate India's most successful captain. Dhoni's credentials are impeccable and as the only Indian captain with two World titles (2011 50-over World Cup and 2007 World T20), the BCCI did not have to ponder over likely names. The 36-year-old has scored 9,737 runs in 302 ODIs besides 4,876 runs in 90 Test matches. He has also played 78 T20 Internationals, notching up 1,212 runs. He has 16 international hundreds (6 in Tests and 10 in ODIs) along with 100 international half-centuries. As a wicketkeeper, Dhoni has held 584 catches across formats (256 in Tests, 285 in ODIs and 43 in T20 Internationals). He has also effected 163 stumpings. Dhoni is already a recipient of the prestigious Arjuna, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and the Padma Shri award. Some of the notable international cricketers, who have been the recipients of Padma Bhushan award are Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid, Chandu Borde, Prof DB Deodhar, Col CK Nayudu, and Lala Amarnath.
World No. 2 Sindhu has been in stellar form since winning a silver medal at Rio Olympics last year.
"Yes, we have recommended Sindhu for Padma Bhushan," a Sports Ministry official. Sindhu, who was also a silver medallist at the World Badminton Championships last month, recently beat Japan's Nozomi Okuhara 22-20, 11-21, 21-18 to become the first Indian shuttler to clinch the Korea Open Super Series title. Last week, she had jumped two places to second spot in the Badminton World Federation women's singles rankings. Sindhu, 22, was awarded Padma Shri in March 2015.
