Virat Kohli extends hold on top BCCI award
India captain Virat Kohli has won the Polly Umrigar Award for best international cricketer for the 2016-17 as well as 2017-18 seasons, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has announced.
With Kohli having won the award for the 2015-16 and 2014-15 seasons as well, it makes it the fourth time in a row that he has picked up the top honour. He had also won it in the 2011-12 season.
Since the start of the 2016 season, Kohli averages 72.15 in Tests, where he is No.2 on the MRF Tyres ICC Test rankings for batsmen. In the same period, from 37 ODIs, he averages a remarkable 95.04.
Harmanpreet Kaur, the India Women T20 captain, and Smriti Mandhana, the vice captain, have been named the best international cricketer (women) for 2016-17 and 2017-18 respectively. This is the first time this award is being given out.
The BCCI awards recognise the efforts of top Indian domestic and international cricketers across all age groups. The winners will be presented a trophy and cash prize at a function in Bengaluru on Tuesday, 12 June.
The lifetime achievement award (men) was conferred on the late Pankaj Roy (2016-17) and Anshuman Gaekwad (2017-18), while the women's honours went to Sudha Shah (2017-18). Diana Edulji, who was chosen for 2016-17, declined the award given her administrative role.
Roy scored 2442 runs for India from 43 Tests at an average of 32.56. He has five Test centuries and nine half-centuries to his name. Gaekwad played 40 Test matches and scored 1985 runs at 30.07 with two centuries and ten half-centuries. He also has 269 runs from 15 one-day internationals.
Shah, a former batter and coach, has 601 runs in 21 Tests and 293 runs in 13 ODIs.
“The last two years have been fabulous for Indian cricket with both the men and women’s teams doing very well. We are proud of their achievements and this is our small way of acknowledging their on-field efforts,” said Vinod Rai, chairman of the Committee of Administrators.
The full list of the award winners can be accessed here.