Dhoni awarded India's top sports award Khel Ratna

New Delhi: India's cricket ODI captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.

Dhoni is the second cricketer after Sachin Tendulkar to win the country's most prestigious sports award.

"He (Dhoni) has represented the country with distinction, and deserves the honour," Board of Control for Cricket in India President Sharad Pawar said in a statement on Monday.

"His exemplary leadership and demeanour under pressure, especially in the World Twenty20 and the tri-series in Australia, mark him out as the ideal role-model for millions of young Indians."