Virat Kohli congratulates Mohammed Shami on receiving Arjuna Award

Listen to Story India's star batter Virat Kohli congratulated teammate Mohammed Shami on being conferred with the prestigious Arjuna Award. by President Draupadi Murmu on January 9, Tuesday, at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in Delhi. India's premium fast bowler received the award for his exemplary performance in the ODI World Cup 2023.

Shami took to Instagram to thank everyone who supported him and acknowledged his hard work. "Today I am feeling very proud that I have been honoured with the prestigious Arjuna Award by the President. I want to thank all those people who have helped me a lot to get here and have always supported me in my ups and downs...

thanks to my Coach, BCCI, teammates, my family, staff and big thanks to my fans. Thanks to recognise my hard work. I will always try to give my best to make my country proud. Again, thanks to everyone. Congratulations to other Arjuna Award winners," Shami wrote on Instagram. Kohli commented on the bowler's post and congratulated Shami for the award.

He wrote, 'Mubarak ho lala'. Shami joined the likes of Kohli and Rohit Sharma to win the prestigious award. Kohli received it back in 2014 for his contributions to the Indian sport. BCCI recommended Shami's name for the Arjuna Award after the pacer of World Cup 2023 with 24 wickets in 7 matches.

Kohli and Shami played a crucial role in India reaching the final of the ODI World Cup as Kohli was the tournament's top run scorer with 765 runs in 11 innings. Kohli and Shami's contributions in their respective departments helped India maintain an unbeaten streak of 10 games in the marquee tournament.

Shami was benched for the first 4 matches of the tournament and went on to take 4 five wicket hauls after Hardik Pandya was ruled out due to injury. A total of 26 athletes received the Arjuna Award for their sensational performances in 2023. The list was dominated by the athletes from the Asian Games 2023.

Shami was the only cricketer to win the Arjuna Award this year. Arjuna Award is the second highest sporting honour in India after the Khel Ratna Award..