Shubman Gill and Smriti Mandhana were honored as the Best International Cricketers (Men and Women) at the BCCI Naman Awards 2026 on Sunday, celebrating their stellar performance in the 2024-2025 season. Gill received the prestigious Polly Umrigar Award as Cricketer of the Year for the second time after winning the first award in 2023, while Mandana won the honor for the fifth time.
The ceremony also presented the Colonel CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award, BCCI’s highest honor, to former greats Roger Binny, Rahul Dravid and Mithali Raj for their outstanding contribution to Indian cricket.
Gill had a phenomenal year in 2025, cementing his place as the backbone of India’s long-form batting line-up. He led the way in India’s five-match Test series in England, scoring 754 runs at an average of 75.40 in 10 innings, including four centuries and a career-best 269 runs. He also played a key role in India’s Champions Trophy victory last year, entering the tournament as the world’s number one ODI batsman. Gill started with an unbeaten 101 against Bangladesh and ended with 188.
Mandana, meanwhile, completed 1,703 international runs in 2025, including 1,362 ODI runs – the most by any woman in a single year – becoming the first female batsman in ODI history to cross 1,000 runs in a calendar year. She played a major role in India’s maiden Women’s World Cup victory, scoring 434 points in nine games to become India’s top scorer and second-highest scorer. Mandana had previously broken the 50-ball century record against Australia in New Delhi, setting the fastest ODI century record by an Indian batsman and breaking Virat Kohli’s 52-ball record.
