Arjuna Award On The Cards For Deepti Sharma And Shikha Pandey?

With Global lockdown stopping the cricket action throughout the globe, there has been a dearth of good updates for the fans. Players have taken the task to keep the fans entertained but the spectators are waiting for the action.

There have been speculations amidst cricketing minds for when the cricket shall start. Another update that comes for the Indian fans is surely going to cheer them. As per a report published by the Hindustan Times sources have suggested that Shikha and Deepti shall be recommended by BCCI for the Arjuna awards.

Arjuna award is India’s most prestigious for sporting icons. Indian women’s side has been impressive in the last few years. They have been competitive in the bilaterals and are always the favorites before an ICC event. In the recently concluded T20 world cup, the Aussies side got the trophy but the young and vibrant Indian side won many hearts. It was players like Shafali, Poonam, Shikha, and Deepti who got the team onto the top and caught the attention of the fans.

Sources closer to the development say that the recent performances of Deepti and Shikha in the T20 World Cup have been the driving reasons. Moreover, their outings in recent seasons have been impressive.

As per the IANS, the source said that “Yes, the office-bearers were given the names of Shikha and Deepti by the cricket operations team for not just their brilliant show in the World T20 in Australia where we finished as runners-up, but also for their consistent showing in the last season. These two names have been forwarded to the office-bearers and are likely to be forwarded to the ministry for the Arjuna Awards once they approve.”

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Shafali was the star of the world cup and entertained the crowds with her bat but it was Shikha from the back end with the ball in hand. She got seven wickets from five games. Her best performance was 3 for 14. Deepti, on the other hand, was the go-to all-rounder for the Indian side. She got 49 in the opening game which got the Indian side a fabulous win over hosts in the first game of the tournament. Interestingly, during the T20 World Cup, Shikha had revealed that she is an engineer and a dying officer with the prestigious Indian Airforce.

Due to lockdown on account of the outbreak of COVID-19, hard copies of nominations are not required to be sent.

She joined the Airforce in 2012 and went through the training. She, however, made her debut for the national side in 2014. The sports ministry had, on 5th May, invited nominations for the 2020 National Sports Awards including the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and the Arjuna Award. The nominations were received via email in light of the recent COVID outbreak.

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A circular issued by sports ministry read that “Due to lockdown on account of the outbreak of COVID-19, hard copies of nominations are not required to be sent. Scanned copies of the nominations duly signed by the applicant/recommending authority may be sent at the above-mentioned email ids, before the last date of submission. The deadline for the submission of nominations is the 3rd of June. The award is handed to female cricketers by the President can be a great boost for the fans and Cricket in these times. More girls will desire a similar path and shall strive to represent the tricolor.

This article was published first on Female Cricket.