Shubman Gill and Smriti Mandhana shine as best international cricketers at BCCI Naman Awards 2026; check details
Shubman Gill, India's Test and ODI captain, clinched the prestigious Polly Umrigar Award as Best International Cricketer (Men) for the second time.
The BCCI Naman Awards 2026 celebrated India's golden era in cricket, honouring top performers from the 2024-25 season and beyond. Held in New Delhi on Sunday, March 15, the ceremony spotlighted exceptional achievements across international, domestic, and age-group levels. It also marked a historic moment by felicitating all five ICC trophy-winning Indian teams from recent years.
Shubman Gill and Smriti Mandhana claim the top individual honours
Shubman Gill, India's Test and ODI captain, clinched the prestigious Polly Umrigar Award as Best International Cricketer (Men) for the second time. His stellar form included 983 runs in nine Tests, featuring 754 runs at an average of 75.40 against England with four centuries in five matches. He added 490 runs in 11 ODIs, showcasing consistent excellence across formats.
Smriti Mandhana repeated as Best International Cricketer (Women), her fifth career win and second consecutive. A standout in India's maiden Women's ODI World Cup triumph in 2025, she topped the tournament charts with 434 runs and set a record with five ODI centuries in 2025.
Lifetime achievement recognitions for cricket legends
The Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award went to Roger Binny and Rahul Dravid for their immense contributions. Binny, part of India's 1983 World Cup-winning squad, was the tournament's highest wicket-taker. He later coached the U19 team to the 2000 World Cup title, served as a selector, and led the BCCI as president from 2022 to 2025.
Dravid amassed over 24,000 international runs during his playing days. Post-retirement, he headed the National Cricket Academy, guided the U19s to the 2018 World Cup, and coached the senior team to the T20 World Cup 2024 victory.
Mithali Raj received the BCCI Lifetime Achievement Award for Women. As the highest run-scorer in women's ODIs with 7,805 runs at 50.68.
Domestic and emerging stars honoured
Shafali Verma earned the Jagmohan Dalmiya Trophy for Best Woman Cricketer (Senior Domestic One Day) in 2024-25. Debutants Harshit Rana (men) and N Sree Charani (women) were recognized for promising international starts.
Other notable awards included the highest run-getters and wicket-takers in domestic tournaments like the Ranji Trophy, Cooch Behar Trophy, and Vijay Merchant Trophy, with standouts like Harsh Dubey (Vidarbha) and Y V Rathod (Vidarbha) shining in the Ranji format.
Historic ICC trophy felicitations
A major highlight was honouring India's five ICC-winning sides, including the men's Champions Trophy 2025 and T20 World Cup 2026 teams, the women's ODI World Cup 2025 squad, plus the men's U19 World Cup 2026 and women's U19 World Cup 2025 victors. This unprecedented sweep highlighted India's dominance.
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