Shubman Gill, Smriti Mandhana win top BCCI awards

New Delhi, Mar 15 (PTI) Prolific batters Shubman Gill and Smriti Mandhana were named the Best International Cricketers (Men's and Women's) at the BCCI Naman Awards 2026 here on Sunday, recognising their outstanding performances in the 2024–2025 season.

Gill won the prestigious Polly Umrigar Award, while Mandhana received the award for the fifth time.

For Gill, it was his second Cricketer of the Year award after first winning it in 2023.

Former stars Roger Binny, Rahul Dravid and Mithali Raj were honoured with the Col. C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award, the BCCI's highest honour, recognising their outstanding service to Indian cricket.

India's five trophy-winning sides (2025 ICC Champions Trophy, 2025 Women's ODI World Cup, 2025 U-19 Women's World Cup, 2026 Men's U-19 World Cup, and 2026 T20 World Cup) were honoured as well on the occasion.

Gill enjoyed a stellar 2025 and established himself as one of the team's most dependable batters in the longer formats.

"Firstly, thank you to the BCCI for recognising me with this award. Many greats and legends of Indian cricket have received it before, so it is a huge honour for me to be here. What we as an Indian cricket group were able to achieve last year was truly tremendous — five ICC trophies, something I don't think has ever happened before," Gill said.

"I want to thank my teammates because none of this would have been possible without them. I would also like to thank my parents and family members for helping me reach where I am today. Thank you once again," Gill added.

On the tour of England, skipper Gill led from the front in the five-Test series, finishing as the top run-getter with 754 runs in 10 innings at an average of 75.40, including four centuries and a top score of 269.

Gill also played a pivotal role in India's Champions Trophy triumph last year, having entered the tournament as the No.1-ranked ODI batter in the world. He made an unbeaten 101 against Bangladesh in India's opening match, and finished the tournament with 188 runs.

Mandhana ended 2025 with 1,703 international runs, including 1,362 in ODIs, the most by any woman in a calendar year. In doing so, Mandhana became the first batter in women's ODI history to score 1,000 runs in a single calendar year.

"I mean, I can talk about this award, but I can't really speak about individual achievements without mentioning the team. It has truly been a brilliant year. So, thank you — and thank you to the BCCI for supporting women's cricket the way you have. I hope we continue to reach even greater heights," Mandhana said.

Vice-captain Mandhana made handsome contributions to India's maiden Women's World Cup title triumph, aggregating 434 runs in nine matches to end as the tournament as India's leading run-scorer and the second-highest overall.

Before the World Cup, the left-hander Mandhana smashed a 50-ball century against Australia in New Delhi to register the fastest ODI hundred by an Indian batter, surpassing Virat Kohli's 52-ball effort.

Shafali Varma (Best Woman Cricketer Senior Domestic One-Day), Ira Jadhav (Best Woman Cricketer (Domestic), Harsh Dubey (Best All Rounder in the Ranji Trophy), and Ayush Mhatre (Best All Rounder in Domestic Limited Overs Competitions) too won awards for their strong performances across the 2024-25 domestic season.