The Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) has nominated MS Dhoni for the third highest civilian honour – the Padma Bhushan – for his contribution to the game.

“Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been nominated by the BCCI for the Padma Bhushan award. It was a unanimous decision by the members. He has been one of the greatest names in contemporary cricket and the most appropriate choice of the Indian cricket board,” BCCI acting president CK Khanna told PTI on Wednesday.

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The nomination of Dhoni was the only name sent by the Board and if the nomination if accepted, the wicketkeeper-batsman will become only the 11th cricketer from the country to receive the civilian honour.

“He is one of our greatest cricketers. Not many players have played 90 Test matches. There is no one better than him, who could have been nominated,” Khanna added.

Some of the other notable names who have been conferred with the prestigious honour are Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar.

Dhoni has already been bestowed with the Arjuna award, the Padma Shri and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award so far in his illustrious career.

The Ranchi maverick had just recently become the first man to complete a century of ODI stumpings in the 5-0 whitewash of Sri Lanka.

One of the most successful captains the India has seen, Dhoni has led the side to two World titles – the 2007 ICC World T20 and the 2015 ICC World Cup.

The 36-year-old is closing in on the 10,000 ODI runs mark with 9,737 runs to his name in 302 games for India currently.

Dhoni is currently with the Indian team as they continue their battle with the visiting Australians in the limited-overs format.

He had scored a valuable 79-run knock in India’s win in the first ODI at Chennai after a top-order collapse had left the hosts looking vulnerable.

The two sides will lock horns in the second game of the five-match series at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday.