Shubman Gill, Smriti Mandhana win BCCI's Cricketer of the Year awards

Naman Awards 2026: On Sunday, March 15, Shubman Gill won the Polly Umrigar Award for Best International Men's Cricketer of the Year, while Smriti Mandhana was named Women's Cricketer of the Year.

Shubman Gill and Smriti Mandhana were honoured with the top individual honours at the Naman Awards 2026 in New Delhi. On Sunday, March 15, Gill received the prestigious Polly Umrigar Award for the Best International Cricketer in men’s cricket, while Mandhana was named the BCCI’s Best International Cricketer in women’s cricket.

For Gill, it was his second Cricketer of the Year award after first winning it in 2023, following a stellar run with the bat for India. Back then as an opening batter, he amassed a remarkable 1,584 runs in 29 ODIs at an average of 63.36 and a strike rate of 105.45, including five centuries.

"Firstly, thank you to the BCCI for recognising me with this award. Many greats and legends of Indian cricket have received it before, so it is a huge honour for me to be here. What we as an Indian cricket group were able to achieve last year was truly tremendous — five ICC trophies, something I don’t think has ever happened before," Gill said.

"I want to thank my teammates because none of this would have been possible without them. I would also like to thank my parents and family members for helping me reach where I am today. Thank you once again," Gill added.

For Mandhana, it was the fifth time she won the award after 2018, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2023–24 and 2024–25.

"I mean, I can talk about this award, but I can’t really speak about individual achievements without mentioning the team. It has truly been a brilliant year. So, thank you — and thank you to the BCCI for supporting women’s cricket the way you have. I hope we continue to reach even greater heights," Mandhana said.