Gill and Mandhana Top BCCI Naman Awards for 2024-25

Indian cricketer Shubman Gill and Smriti Mandhana were named the top international performers of the 2024-25 season at the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s Naman Awards ceremony in New Delhi on March 15, 2026. The event honored individual achievements, lifetime contributions and recent team successes across men’s, women’s and youth cricket, drawing attention to India’s dominant run in global tournaments.

Gill received the Polly Umrigar Award for the best men’s international cricketer, marking his second such honor after 2023. The 26-year-old Test and ODI captain amassed 1,764 runs in 35 matches across formats during 2025, averaging 49 with seven centuries. He led India to victory in the Champions Trophy and topped the run charts with 754 runs at an average of 75.40 in the five-Test series against England, including four centuries and a highest score of 269. In his acceptance speech, Gill credited the team’s support staff for building India’s reputation as a fearless side. “It’s the effort of everyone, whether it’s the batting coach, the bowling coach, the fielding coach; they all have worked tirelessly to get this team to where it is today,” Gill said. “That’s why we are...