India’s cricket was the main thing at the BCCI Naman Awards 2026 in New Delhi; Gill and Mandhana were given the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s best international player awards. The event on March 15th honoured great play from the 2024-25 season, and also recognised people who had been good at the sport for a long time, and in all forms of the game, and at all ages.
What happened at the event, and why it matters
The Naman Awards gave prizes to people who were excellent in international, domestic and new cricket, and particularly noted India’s recent good record in ICC events. The people who organised the event honoured five Indian teams who had won ICC trophies in the last few years, showing that Indian cricket was in a golden age. The event had both style and recognised people for what they had done on the pitch.
Players were chosen after a careful look at how they had played in Tests, ODIs and T20Is. The awards valued how much impact players had, instead of just how well they had played recently; that’s why players who had very good records in both red-ball and white-ball cricket were given the main awards. The event also had lifetime achievement awards, which honoured famous cricketers and their coaches.
Shubman Gill: The Polly Umrigar Award and a very good season
Shubman Gill got the Polly Umrigar Award as the best international cricketer – a man – for the second time after 2023. People especially praised Gill’s red-ball play, as he had been captain and batter for India in a very good Test series against England. His total runs and how often he scored showed how good he was.
He made over 1,000 runs in the season in all forms, including 754 in the five-Test series against England, and many hundreds. Gill also had a big part in India’s Champions Trophy win, going into the event as the No. 1 ODI batter and making important runs as an opener. The award recognised both what he had done as an individual, and his leadership.
In his speech at the awards, Gill said how important team work was, and said thank you to his family and teammates. Even after a difficult start to the next year, and being left out of the T20 World Cup, the BCCI recognised how much Gill had affected India’s Test and ODI games during the time the award covered.
Smriti Mandhana: Playing well all the time, records and a fifth award
Smriti Mandhana was named the best international cricketer – a woman – for the fifth time, which showed how much of a face she was for Indian women’s cricket. Mandhana had a very important year, being the first woman to make 1,000 ODI runs in a year, and finishing as the best run scorer in the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup.
She made over 1,000 runs in 50-over cricket, and five ODI hundreds in 2025 – a record-breaking season. Mandhana also reached 4,000 T20I runs, being the first Indian woman to go past that number. Her role as opener and someone who won matches was the basis of India’s title wins and how good the top of their batting order was.
At the event, she thanked the team work and praised the BCCI for supporting women’s cricket. What she said showed she wanted women’s cricket in India to grow and grow, and to aim to do even better in world competitions.
Lifetime awards and recognising domestic players
Roger Binny and Rahul Dravid got the Col C.K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award for the long-lasting effect they had on the game, and Mithali Raj got the lifetime achievement award for women. These awards showed the careers of people who had made runs, taken wickets, coached, and organised Indian cricket in the modern age.
Domestic players and new players were also recognised. Players who had been top of the Ranji Trophy and youth tournaments got trophies, and new international players were praised for the quick effect they had. The awards showed how much talent India had coming through.
Honouring five ICC trophy-winning teams, and a long-lasting effect
The most important part of the event was honouring five Indian teams who had won ICC trophies – the men’s Champions Trophy and T20 World Cup, the women’s ODI World Cup, and both U19 World Cups. This winning streak showed that India were excellent in all forms of the game, and at all levels.
The Naman Awards were both a celebration and a statement: Indian cricket was in a time of continued success, built on a strong base of domestic cricket and excellent international play. Recognising stars like Gill and Mandhana, as well as legends and new players, showed that things would continue, and that the future was good.
The awards will likely give players more confidence, and keep people’s attention on the next series and tournaments, where these players will try to build on what they have done.
