There is some good news for beleaguered Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly -- he was recommended for the country's highest honour for sportspersons, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, on Saturday.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) wrote to the Union Sports Ministry recommending the names of Ganguly and his deputy Rahul Dravid for outstanding performance in the year 2004.
The award, instituted in 1991-92, carries a medal, a scroll of honour and a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh.
Also, the names of two younger batsmen Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif were recommended for Arjuna Awards.
This was disclosed by BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla who said the Board secretary S K Nair had written to the Sports Ministry recommending the four names.
Long jumper Anju Bobby George was awarded the Khel Ratna for 2003 for her bronze medal winning effort at the World Athletics championships in Paris the same year.
Should either Ganguly or Dravid be awarded the Khel Ratna, they would be the second cricketer after Sachin Tendulkar (1997-98) to get the honour.
Both Ganguly and Dravid had been bestowed the Arjuna Award, in 1997 and 1998 respectively.
Tendulkar (1994), Anil Kumble (1995), V V S Laxman (2001), Virender Sehwag (2002) and Harbhajan Singh (2003) are the other members of the present Indian team to have won the Arjun Award.
Incidentally, no names have been recommended for the Dronacharya Award, given to coaches who successfully trained sportspersons or teams, this year.
