BCCI Honors Cricket Legends, Recognizes Top Performers Across Domestic and International Categories

New Delhi. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has honored legendary players across various categories in recognition of their invaluable contributions to cricket.

Former captain and coach Rahul Dravid and Roger Binny will be presented with the prestigious Colonel CK Naidu Lifetime Achievement Award at a special ceremony to be held in Delhi on Sunday. In women's cricket, Mithali Raj, who played a significant role in bringing Indian women's cricket to the global stage, received this honor.

For the 2024-25 season, Shubman Gill won the Polly Umrigar Award, or Best International Cricketer, for the second time in the men's category. In the women's category, Smriti Mandhana created a record by clinching the Best International Cricketer title for the fifth time in her career. Smriti also bagged the award for the highest run-scorer in One Day Internationals this season, while Deepti Sharma became the highest wicket-taker.

The BCCI also paid special attention to performances in domestic cricket. Shefali Verma from Haryana was awarded the Best Woman Cricketer in the senior category, and Ira Jadhav from Mumbai in the junior category. Ayush Mhatre from Mumbai received the award for the Best All-Rounder in domestic limited-overs cricket, while Harsha Dubey from Vidarbha received the dual honor of being the best all-rounder and highest wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy. The Mumbai Cricket Association, which performed excellently by winning four titles, received the award for the Best Domestic Team this year.

The main highlight of this year's awards ceremony is the felicitation of India's five ICC trophy-winning teams. The men's team that won the 2025 Champions Trophy and the 2026 T20 World Cup, the women's team that won the 2025 ODI World Cup, and both the men's and women's teams that won the U-19 World Cups will be honored on the same stage. This period is being described as a golden era in Indian cricket history.

In other categories, Harshit Rana and N. Sai Sudharsan won the Best International Debutant awards for men and women, respectively. Yash Rathore of Vidarbha was declared the highest run-scorer in the Elite group of the Ranji Trophy. The award for the Best Umpire in domestic cricket was received by Ulhas Gandhe from Vidarbha. Young talents such as Yashvardhan Singh, Kishan Sarkar, Shantanu Singh, and Nitya Pandya, who performed excellently in various age-group tournaments, were also awarded for their success.