Rahul Dravid, Mithali Raj and Shubman Gill to be honoured by BCCI

Dubai: Rahul Dravid and Mithali Raj will be honoured with lifetime awards in recognition of their outstanding contributions to Indian cricket. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will felicitate both legends during its annual Naman Awards ceremony.

Dravid, widely regarded as one of India’s finest Test batters, will receive the prestigious Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award on March 15 in Delhi. During his 16-year international career, he played 509 matches across formats, scoring more than 13,000 runs in Tests and close to 11,000 in ODIs.

After retiring from international cricket in 2012, Dravid moved into coaching. He guided India’s Under-19 team to victory at the 2018 ICC Under-19 World Cup and also mentored the India A side. Later, he became the head coach of the senior men’s team, helping India reach the 2023 World Cup final and secure the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title.

Current India coach Gautam Gambhir dedicated that T20 World Cup triumph to Dravid, acknowledging his role in shaping the team’s development. Dravid, who formed part of India’s celebrated ‘Big Four’ batting lineup alongside Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, and VVS Laxman, leaves behind a legacy defined by discipline, consistency and mentorship. His record includes 36 Test centuries and 12 ODI hundreds, highlighting his technical mastery and resilience.

Immense contribution

Former India women’s team captain Mithali Raj will also receive a lifetime honour for her immense contribution to the game. Widely respected for her achievements, Raj remains the highest run-scorer in women’s ODIs and led India to multiple ICC tournament finals during her distinguished career.

Among the other major honours, Shubman Gill will receive the Cricketer of the Year award, while the Mumbai Cricket Association will be recognised as the best cricket association in domestic cricket. Mumbai’s Ayush Mhatre will also be honoured with the Lala Amarnath Award for the best all-rounder in domestic limited-overs cricket.

Gill captains India in Tests and ODIs but was left out of the T20 World Cup squad that won on home soil earlier this month.

The awards ceremony in Delhi is expected to be a star-studded occasion, celebrating India’s rich cricketing heritage while inspiring the next generation of players.