5 popular cricketers you might not know won Padma Shri before R Ashwin

Former India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin was recently conferred the Padma Shri, which is the fourth-highest civilian award in India. He joins a prestigious list of awardees, which includes some cricketers as well.

Ravichandran Ashwin represented India in 106 Tests, 116 ODIs and 65 T20I matches. The off-spinner played a huge role in India's unbeaten streak of over a decade in home Test series. Plus, he was also a part of the Indian squad that won the 2011 ODI World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy.

On that note, here's a list of five cricketers you might not know who received Padma Shri before R Ashwin.

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#1 Zaheer Khan, 2020

Zaheer Khan was a part of India's 2011 ODI World Cup-winning squad along with Ashwin. The former fast bowler was the highest wicket-taker for Team India in the competition, and was conferred the Padma Shri in 2020.

Apart from his heroics in the 2011 World Cup, Khan also gave top-notch performances in Test cricket, where he bagged 311 wickets in 92 matches.

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#2 Gautam Gambhir, 2019

A year before Zaheer Khan received the prestigious award, the government honored another 2011 ODI World Cup-winning squad member, Gautam Gambhir. The former Indian opener starred in India's final win, scoring a brilliant 97 against Sri Lanka.

Gambhir also scored a magnificent half-century in the 2007 T20 World Cup final, where India defeated Pakistan. After retirement from cricket, Gambhir received the Padma Shri award in 2019.

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#3 Virat Kohli, 2017

Star Indian batter Virat Kohli was in his prime in 2016, when had a dream year with the bat, scoring 2,595 runs in 41 innings in international cricket. Plus, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter also won the IPL Orange Cap award for scoring a record 973 runs in the 2016 edition.

Kohli became India's full-time captain across all formats at the start of 2017. In the same year, he was also honored with the Padma Shri award.

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#4 Yuvraj Singh, 2014

Another 2011 ODI World Cup hero to feature on the list is Yuvraj Singh. The former Indian all-rounder fought cancer and produced extraordinary performances on the field to help India become the world champions in 2011.

Singh also starred in India's 2007 T20 World Cup triumph in South Africa. Thanks to his fantastic performances on the field, Singh received the Padma Shri in 2014.

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#5 MS Dhoni, 2009

MS Dhoni was the first captain to win the T20 World Cup. Just a few months after India's embarrassing group stage exit from the 2007 ODI World Cup, Dhoni led a young Indian side to the T20 World Cup trophy.

That victory established Dhoni as the new leader of Team India. Soon after, he was named the team's captain across formats. In 2009, the government honored him with the Padma Shri award.