Getting Arjuna Award is "proud moment for me and my family": Ishant Sharma
Aug 24, 2020
New Delhi [India], Aug 24 : India pacer Ishant Sharma said it is a proud moment for him and his family after the cricketer was named in the recipients of the 2020 Arjuna Awardee list.
The speedster is one of the 27 athletes who will be getting the Arjuna Award on National Sports Day, August 29.
"When I got to know that I was getting the Arjuna Award, I was really happy, feeling proud of myself. In the last 13 years, I did a lot of hard work. It is a proud moment for me and my family. More than me, my wife is really proud of me because she is the one who really thinks that I should get that award," Ishant said in a video posted by the BCCI's official Twitter handle.
Talking about the team's mindset and game planning he said, "Mindset of team India's bowling unit is that we always think how to win a game, that is the most important thing for us. We do not think about individual wickets, we try to read the situation and plan accordingly. We prepared really well and planned according to every batsman. We try and execute those things in the ground and things happen for us."
Ishant is regarded as the vital cog of the Indian Test bowling line-up. The speedster has been in great touch in the recent longest format series.
The 31-year-old right-arm pacer has played 97 Tests and bagged 297 wickets at an average of 32.39. Ishant is just short of three wickets to join the 300-wicket club in the Test cricket.
He has played 80 ODIs and scalped 115 wickets at an average of 30.98.
Arjuna Award is an honour bestowed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to recognise the achievement of athletes. The award carries a cash prize, a bronze statue of Arjuna and a scroll.
Vinesh Phogat (Wrestling), Mariyappan T. (Para-Athletics), Rohit Sharma (Cricket), Manika Batra (Table Tennis) and Rani Rampal (Hockey) will be conferred with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award this year.
Sprinter Dutee Chand, cricketer Deepti Sharma, and shooter Manu Bhaker are among the 27 athletes who will be conferred with the Arjuna Award.
National Sports Awards which include the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, the Arjuna award, the Dronacharya award, and the Dhyan Chand award, are conferred on athletes every year by the President of India at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on August 29, the National Sports Day.
However, this year, the names would be announced by President Ram Nath Kovind virtually due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
