Rahul Dravid, Mithali Raj and Roger Binny will receive the BCCI’s Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement awards on Friday evening in Delhi, the board confirmed on Thursday. All three are being recognised for what the BCCI, in a short statement, called their “outstanding service to Indian cricket”, a phrase that feels about right when you add up their combined runs, wickets and quiet influence.
Jay Shah, the board secretary, kept it simple: “These are names that shaped several generations of Indian cricket. It is only fitting we celebrate them together.”
Dravid, currently guiding the men’s national side, sounded typically measured. “Awards are lovely, though the real reward is the opportunity to keep working with these players,” he said during a brief media interaction. Raj, who retired from international cricket in 2023, struck a similar note. “I look at this as encouragement for everyone who has pushed women’s cricket forward,” she remarked. Binny – World Cup-winner, former national selector and briefly BCCI president – joked, “At my age you mainly collect memories; a trophy is a bonus.”
On the same night, Shubman Gill will collect the Polly Umrigar Award for best men’s international cricketer for 2024-25, his second in four years. “A lot of the credit goes to the senior lads who made my transition smoother,” Gill said earlier this week. Smriti Mandhana will take home the women’s equivalent for a fifth time – a number that is starting to look slightly ridiculous. “I try not to think about records, otherwise you forget to enjoy batting,” she admitted during a domestic fixture in Mumbai.
Domestic rewards
• Ira Jadhav (Mumbai) – Jagmohan Dalmiya Trophy, best woman cricketer
• Shafali Verma (Haryana) – Jagmohan Dalmiya Trophy, senior women’s one-day
• Ayush Mhatre (Mumbai) – Lala Amarnath Award, limited-overs all-rounder
• Harsh Dubey (Vidarbha) – Lala Amarnath Award, Ranji all-rounder
The Mumbai Cricket Association will once again be handed the plaque for overall performance – four titles, two runner-up finishes – underlining the depth that still pops up from maidans across the city.
Junior accolades include a long list of Vijay Merchant, Cooch Behar and CK Nayudu winners. (Full list sits at the bottom for the stats-minded; the rest of us can simply note that the production line appears healthy.)
Five ICC-trophy squads to be applauded
In a fresh touch, every Indian team that lifted an ICC trophy over the past 18 months will have a moment on stage:
– Men’s Champions Trophy 2025
– Men’s T20 World Cup 2026
– Women’s ODI World Cup 2025
– Men’s Under-19 World Cup 2026
– Women’s Under-19 World Cup 2025
BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla described that haul as “an extraordinary purple patch”, before adding, with a grin, “and may it continue – calendars permitting.”
A quick look ahead
The ceremony, usually a fairly brisk affair, is expected to finish before dinner so the senior men can catch an early flight to Bengaluru for the start of their home Test series. Dravid laughed when asked if he had any special plans for the evening. “No speeches longer than my forward-defence,” he said, “that’s my only request.”
Selected age-group and domestic awardees
– Deepti Sharma: most ODI wickets (women)
– Smriti Mandhana: most ODI runs (women)
– N Shree Charani and Harshit Rana: best international debutants
– Yashbardhan Singh Chauhan, Shanthanu Singh, Kishan Sarkar among the Under-16 leaders
– Vicky Ostwal tops wickets in the Under-23 CK Nayudu elite bracket
Plenty of names, plenty of promise, and – if the board’s statistics are taken at face value – a pretty healthy year for Indian cricket all round.
