Suresh Raina appeals to the Indian government to bestow the Bharat Ratna upon Virat Kohli.

Suresh Raina, a former cricket player for India, has urged the Indian government to award the Bharat Ratna to great batsman Virat Kohli. Notably, the highest civilian award in India, the Bharat Ratna, is given to people who have made outstanding contributions to their disciplines. Receiving the Bharat Ratna award is difficult because it is only given to individuals who have made significant contributions to their profession and elevated the nation’s profile internationally.

Virat Kohli has announced his retirement from Test cricket, capping a 14-year career in which he participated in 123 games and amassed an incredible 9230 runs at an average of over 46. After Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar, and Sachin Tendulkar, he is India’s fourth-highest run scorer in the format. With 40 victories in 68 games as captain, Kohli is also the Indian team’s most successful Test skipper.

“I feel the Indian government should award him the Bharat Ratna because he has achieved so many things for India,” Suresh Raina stated to Star Sports.

For those who don’t know, Kohli has performed even better for the nation in the shorter game formats. The 36-year-old has amassed almost 14,000 runs in his ODI career, trailing only Sachin Tendulkar’s 18,426 runs from 462 games. With 51 hundreds to Tendulkar’s 49, Kohli has now overtaken the senior pro in the format’s century total.

How many cricket players have received the Bharat Ratna award?

The only cricket player to yet to get the coveted Bharat Ratna honour is Sachin Tendulkar, who did so in 2014, only months after retiring from international competition. The Mumbai native amassed an incredible 34,357 runs while playing for the nation in 664 international matches, including a century of hundreds—something no other cricket player on the planet has ever accomplished.

In addition to Tendulkar, a select handful have also received the greatest accolade, including Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, Lata Mangeshkar, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow is named after Vajpayee, the former prime minister of India.