Rishabh Pant named ICC's Emerging Cricketer of 2018
Dubai, Jan 22 : India's fast-rising wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant was Tuesday named the International Cricket Council's Emerging Player of the Year in the world body's annual awards.
The 21-year-old Pant was picked by the ICC's voting academy for a stellar show in his breakthrough Test year in 2018.
He became the first Indian wicket-keeper to score a Test century in England, and equalled the record for the most catches taken in a Test, with 11 against Australia in Adelaide in December.
He was also the first Indian wicketkeeper to score a Test hundred in Australia.
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Dhyan Chand lifetime award to be replaced by Arjuna lifetime
New Delhi, Oct 24: The sports ministry on Thursday announced the discontinuation of the Dhyan Chand Award for lifetime achievement from this year onwards and the introduction of the Arjuna Award Lifetime in its place in a bid to "rationalise" the various sporting honours of the country.
Instituted in 2002, the Dhyan Chand Lifetime Award, named after hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand, is given to individuals in disciplines that are part of the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, among others.
In 2023, the award was given to former shuttler Manjusha Kanwar, ex-hockey exponent Vineet Kumar and kabaddi player Kavitha Selvaraj.
"The various schemes for sports awards have been rationalised wherein Arjuna Award (Lifetime) has been introduced in place of Dhyan Chand Award. To recognise the efforts of coaches at grassroots/development level, they are now eligible for the Dronacharya Award," said a ministry statement.
"The Arjuna Award (Lifetime) has been introduced and will be given for life time contribution to sports development.
"Further, to recognize the Khelo India scheme, the Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy will be given to the University for Overall Top Performance in Khelo India University Games," it added.
The last date for applying for the national sports awards for 2024 is November 14.
