Vikrant Shekhawat : Feb 01, 2025, 09:04 PM
BCCI Awards 2025: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) organized the 'Naman Awards' in Mumbai to honor the best cricketers of the year 2023-24. In this prestigious ceremony, Team India's star fast bowler Jaspreet Bumrah and women's cricket team vice-captain and veteran opener Smriti Mandhana were honored as the best cricketer of the year. Both these players were given this prestigious award for their exceptional performance in Indian cricket.Jasprit Bumrah receives Polly Umrigar AwardBCCI started the award in the name of former legendary cricketer Polly Umrigar in 2007 to honor the best male cricketer of the year. This time the award was given to Jasprit Bumrah, who performed brilliantly in the ODI World Cup, T20 World Cup and Test cricket in the 2023-24 season. This is the second time Bumrah has received this trophy. Earlier he had also won this award in the 2018-19 season.Smriti Mandhana became the best women's cricketer of the yearSmriti Mandhana was given the Best Women's Cricketer of the Year award due to her consistent excellent performance. This is the fourth time she has received this honor. Earlier, she has also won this award in the 2017-18, 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. Mandhana's consistent excellence has taken her to a special place in women's cricket.Sachin Tendulkar gets Lifetime Achievement AwardLegendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar was honored with the Colonel CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award this time. Sachin received this honor for the contribution he has made to Indian cricket. Former BCCI secretary and current ICC chairman Jay Shah himself presented this award to Sachin Tendulkar.Special award to Ravichandran AshwinIndian cricket team's experienced spin all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin, who retired from international cricket last year, was also given a special honor in this ceremony. Ashwin announced his retirement after the Brisbane Test on the Australia tour, and in view of his contribution, the BCCI gave him this special honor.Other honors and special awardsNot only the legends of international cricket were honored in this ceremony, but the players who performed brilliantly in domestic cricket also got special awards. Apart from this, every player of the Indian team that won the T20 World Cup was given a 'personalized ring' by BCCI's sponsor Dream11. However, some players including Virat Kohli could not attend the ceremony.This ceremony of BCCI was an important occasion to honor the top players of Indian cricket and it once again showed how important the hard work and contribution of these great players are behind the success of Indian cricket.