• Source:JND
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India ace pacer Mohammed Shami was conferred with the Arjuna Award by President Droupadi Murmu at the Durbar Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Tuesday. Shami was the only cricketer to receive the annual accolade in the list of 26 athletes.

After getting the Arjuna Award, India's second-highest sporting honour after Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, Shami took to Instagram and expressed his excitement in a heartfelt post.

"Today I am feeling very proud that I have been honored with the prestigious Arjuna Award by the President. I want to thank all those people who have helped me a lot to reach here and have always supported me in my ups and downs... thanks to My Coach, BCCI,team mates,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 others arjun award winners," he wrote on Instagram post with video of him receiving the award from President Murmu.

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Commenting on the post, India star batter Virat Kohli congratulated the pacer and wrote, 'Mubarak ho lala'. Out-of-action India opener Shikhar Dhawan and former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan also shared their congratulatory wishes on the post.

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Shami became the 58th Indian cricketer to receive the Arjuna Award and joined the list of legendary players including Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami, and Virat Kohli.

The 33-year-old pacer had an exceptional 2023 that includes featuring in two ICC finals - the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup. India ended both tournaments as runners-up. He finished the ODI showpiece event as the highest wicket-taker with 24 wickets in seven matches and started the home competition from the bench.

Currently, Shami is recovering from his ankle injury which ruled him out of the two-match Test series against South Africa. He is undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru to be fit for the upcoming five-match Test series against England, commencing on January 25.