New Delhi, March 16 (IANS) The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) successfully hosted another edition of ‘Naman,’ the annual awards ceremony that recognises the top performers and trailblazers of Indian cricket and former India cricketer Anil Kumble penned a note to congratulate his ‘dear friend’ Rahul Dravid on receiving the lifetime achievement award.
The awards ceremony took place on Sunday night in the presence of all the BCCI office bearers, as well as the former secretary of the board and the current chairman of the International Cricket Council, Jay Shah. Also present at the gala night were the winning members of the five recent ICC tournaments- U19 Men’s World Cup, U19 Women’s World Cup, Champions Trophy, Women’s ODI World Cup, and Men’s T20 World Cup.
The centre of attraction were former India cricketer and head coach Rahul Dravid, 1983 World Cup winner and former BCCI president Roger Binny, and former India captain Mithali Raj as the three veterans were honoured with the Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award.
“A special awards night celebrating the journey of Indian cricket. Wonderful to see five ICC title-winning teams together at the BCCI Naman Awards. Delighted for my dear friend Rahul Dravid on receiving the Col. C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award. Congratulations also to my first captain Roger Binny, Mithali Raj, Shubman Gill, Smriti Mandhana and all the awardees,” Kumble wrote on X.
Among other notable award winners were India’s Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill, who received the Polly Umrigar Award (Best International Cricketer- Men) for the 2024–25 season, and Smriti Mandhana, who won the Best International Cricketer (Women) award for the fifth time as well as the award for the top run-getter in ODIs. Her teammate, all-rounder Deepti Sharma, received the award for being the highest wicket-taker (2024-25) in ODIs.
India opener Shafali Verma and the recent U-19 World Cup-winning captain Ayush Mhatre also received awards for their standout performances during the 2024–25 domestic season.
N Sree Charani and Harshit Rana received the ‘Best International Debut’ award, while the Mumbai Cricket Association was awarded for ‘Best Performance in BCCI Domestic Tournaments of 2024-25.’
–IANS
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