New Delhi: Amid all the controversy surrounding his "no friendship with Aussie" remark, Indian skipper Virat Kohli finally has a big reason to smile. On Thursday, the 28-year-old was bestowed with India's fourth highest civilian award, Padma Shri, by Indian President Pranab Mukherjee.


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The Delhi batsman indeed had a phenomenal 2016-17 home season, registering victory over all the touring teams and taking his side to the No. 1 Test spot. He in fact took on social media to acknowledge the award saying, "What an absolute honor and a memorable day to receive the Padma Shri award from the President of India. God's been kind."



Virat Kohli was among the eight sportspersons who were awarded with Padma Shri. They included Rio bronze medallist Sakshi Malik, gymnast Dipa Karmakar alog with Rio paralympic medal winners Mariyappan Thangavelu and Deepa Malik.