At the BCCI Naman Awards 2026 in New Delhi on Sunday, prolific batters Shubman Gill and Smriti Mandhana were voted the Best International Cricketers (Men’s and Women’s), for their exceptional accomplishments in the 2024–2025 season.
Gill won the coveted Polly Umrigar Award for the second time having also won it in 2023, while Mandhana got it for the fifth time.
The BCCI’s highest honor, the Col. C K Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award, was given to former players Roger Binny, Rahul Dravid, and Mithali Raj in recognition of their exceptional contributions to Indian cricket.
Gill had an outstanding 2025 and became one of the team’s most reliable batters in the longer formats. With 754 runs in 10 innings at an average of 75.40, including four hundreds and a maximum score of 269, captain Gill dominated the five-Test series on England tour.
Gill, was also crucial to India’s Champions Trophy victory last year, going into the competition as the world’s top ODI batter. He finished the tournament with 188 runs after making an undefeated 101 against Bangladesh in India’s opening game.
Mandhana has the highest international runs of any woman in a calendar year at 1,703 by the end of 2025, including 1,362 in ODIs. By doing this, Mandhana made history as the first batter in women’s ODI history to reach 1,000 runs in a single year.
Mandhana also contributed significantly to India’s first-ever Women’s World Cup victory, scoring 434 runs in nine games to finish as the country’s top run scorer and the second-highest overall.
Virat Kohli’s 52-ball century was surpassed by left-hander Mandhana’s 50-ball century against Australia in New Delhi prior to the World Cup, making it the fastest ODI century by an Indian batter.
