Rahul Dravid to be awarded Padma Bhushan

New Delhi: Former India captain Rahul Dravid will be awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award after the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan - the government of India announced on Friday.

Dravid, who retired from cricket last year, scored close to 25,000 international runs. The prolific Indian batsman scored 13,288 runs in 164 Tests at an average of 52.31 while racking up 10,889 runs in 344 ODIs, averaging 39.16. He is also the third highest run-scorer in the history of Test cricket.

Also the London Olympics bronze medallist boxer MC Mary Kom - the first Indian woman to achieve the feat - was named to receive the Padma Bhushan. She is also the five-time former world champion and the only woman boxer to have won a medal in each one of the six world championships. She also received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 2009.

Dravid retired from international cricket last year after scoring 13,288 runs in 164 Tests at an average of 52.31.

Apart from the Padma Bhushan, six other Indian sportsperson were named to receive Padma Shri award. These include mountaineer Premlata Agrawal, wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, para-athlete Hosanagara Nagarajegowda Girisha, London Olympic silver medallist shooter Vijay Kumar, boxer Dingko Singh and rower Bajrang Lal Takhar.

(With inputs from PTI)

(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)