Shubman Gill Wins Polly Umrigar Award at BCCI Naman 2026

India’s Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill has been honored with the Cricketer of the Year, Polly Umrigar Award, at the BCCI Naman Awards 2026.

This honor has been awarded to him for the second time. Earlier, he had also won this award in the year 2023.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) organized its grand annual Naman Awards ceremony in New Delhi on 15 March, 2026. The BCCI Awards, started in the year 2006-07, is an annual award ceremony.

Smriti Mandhana became the Best International Woman Cricketer

Star player of the Indian women’s cricket team, Smriti Mandhana, received the Best International Woman Cricketer award for the fifth time. Mandhana scored a total of 1703 international runs in the year 2025 and 1362 runs in ODIs (the highest by a woman player in a calendar year).

Colonel C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award

Rahul Dravid - Former head coach of India, Rahul Dravid, was honored with the Colonel C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award for his significant contribution to Indian cricket, which also includes leading the team to the 2024 T20 World Cup title, making him the first male cricketer to receive this honor after Sachin Tendulkar (2024).

Roger Binny - Roger Binny was an important member of the 1983 World Cup-winning team – ‘Kapil’s Devils’. Additionally, he has also recently served as the President of the BCCI. The 70-year-old Binny from Karnataka took a total of 18 wickets in the 1983 World Cup, which was a record at that time.

Mithali Raj - A record-breaking player and a pioneer for women’s cricket, Mithali Raj established a new identity through WPL and international cricket. Mithali Raj, who scored a century in her international debut match against Ireland at the age of 16 in 1999, played cricket for India for nearly 23 years.

Other major winners of the Naman Awards

Best Association in domestic cricket - Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA)

Lala Amarnath Award for Best Limited-Overs All-Rounder - Ayush Mhatre

Best Woman Cricketer Senior Domestic One-Day - Shafali Verma

Best Woman Cricketer Domestic - Ira Jadhav

Best All-Rounder in Ranji Trophy - Harsh Dubey

Best International Debut - Harshit Rana and N. Sree Charani

Honored Teams (ICC Champions): Senior Men’s Team (T20 World Cup 2026), Senior Men’s Team (ICC Champions Trophy 2025), Senior Women’s Team (ODI World Cup 2025), Under-19 Men’s and Women’s World Cup teams.