It is a "special feeling" for Indian vice-captain Rahul Dravid, who will be receiving the prestigious Padma Shri award from President A P J Abdul Kalam at a glittering function at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Wednesday.

Dravid, alongwith his captain Sourav Ganguly and a host of dignitaries have been nominated for the Padma awards and the middle-order bastman is excited about the "special honour" that will put him in the same league as some of his cricketing idols.

"This is a special award and it's a special feeling. Some of my heroes and cricketers have got this award. So it is something special to be part of that legacy," Dravid told reporters in Delhi on Tuesday.

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The 31-year-old Dravid would be the fifth cricketer from Karnataka to receive this honour following E A S Prasanna, Gundappa Vishwanath, B S Chandrasekhar and Syed Kirmani.

Anju B George, Dilip Tirkey and K M Beenamol are the other sportpersons who would be receiving Padma Shri from the President on Wednesday.