Reports: Shubman Gill to receive Cricketer of the Year award; Ravi Shastri to be honoured with lifetime achievement at BCCI NAMAN ceremony

Ravi Shastri and Shubman Gill. (Photo Source: Twitter)

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is all set to host the NAMAN Awards on Tuesday, January 23. The 2024 edition of the annual award ceremony to celebrate exceptional performances in Indian cricket during the preceding year is slated to take place in Hyderabad, where India will also be playing their first Test of the five-match series against England.

Meanwhile, latest reports have suggested that opening batter Shubman Gill will be conferred as Cricketer of the Year award in Men’s category by the BCCI, in recognition of his exceptional showing at the international arena throughout the year 2023. Furthermore, former cricketer and head coach Ravi Shastri will also be presented the Lifetime Achievement Award by the BCCI.

“He (Shastri) has been chosen for the honour, while Gill will be awarded the cricketer of the year,” a BCCI official was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

It is worthy of mentioning that Shubman Gill played 48 matches in 2023, wherein he amassed a staggering 2,154 runs. The Punjab batter’s average remained 46.82 during the year, which included seven hundreds and ten half-centuries, including a ton in each of the three formats he played. In the Indian Premier League, BCCI’s flagship T20 tournament, Gill took home the Orange Cap for his mind-boggling 890 runs in the 2024 edition, representing Gujarat Titans (GT).

Ravi Shastri, on the other hand, has represented the country in 80 Tests and 150 one-dayers. The former all-rounder has more than 3,000 runs in both the formats, while scalping 280 wickets combined during the course of his international career, which spanned for more than a decade. As Indian team’s head coach, Shastri helped the team achieve knockouts of the WTC Final (2021), World Cup (2019), and T20 World Cup (2021). The infamous Gabba Test victory against Australia was also achieved under the 61-year-old’s due guidance.

First NAMAN Awards since 2019; Harsha Bhogle likely to host

The awards are being held for the first time since 2019, as the amount of cricket played was very less owing to Covid-19 pandemic. The official X handle of the BCCI also shared some behind the scenes of the upcoming event in the City of Pearls. As visible from the video, the Hyderabad-born Harsha Bhogle will be the host for the coveted event, alongside stars of Indian cricket from both men’s and women’s teams.

In 2023, the Indian team performed substantially well, as they ended as the runners-up during the World Test Championship final as well as the ODI World Cup, losing to Australia on both the occasions. India’s bilateral performances were also noteworthy, winning majority of the games.