The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will award Shubman Gill with the Indian Men’s Cricketer of the year award for the session 2024-25 at the Naman Awards 2026. The award, officially known as the Polly Umrigar Awards, will be presented to the Indian ODI and Test captain for his outstanding achievement during the entire 2024-25 session. In the year, Gill captained the senior men’s team to retain the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy and was deputy to Rohit Sharma as the side won the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

This will be the second time that Gill will be honoured with the prestigious award, having won it before in 2024 for the 2022-23 season.

But the award in itself is nearly two decades old, starting in 2006-07. The first recipient of the famous award was none other than the God of Cricket himself, Sachin Tendulkar.

The Legend Begins: Sachin Tendulkar

The “Master Blaster” would go on to win it again in 2009–10, but he soon shared the stage with other titans. Virender Sehwag (2007–08), Gautam Gambhir (2008–09), and Rahul Dravid (2010–11) all secured the honor, highlighting a golden generation that took India to the top of the Test rankings and a World Cup title in 2011. 

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The Era of Dominance: Virat Kohli

If the early years were a shared legacy, the following decade belonged to Virat Kohli. Kohli holds the record for the most Polly Umrigar Awards, winning a staggering five times (2011–12, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, and 2017–18). His relentless run-scoring across all formats set a new benchmark for what it meant to be the “Cricketer of the Year.”

The Rise of the Gen-Next: Shubman Gill

The post-Kohli era has seen a diversification of talent. While bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah (a three-time winner) and Ravichandran Ashwin broke the batter-heavy tradition, the spotlight has recently returned to India’s next batting sensation: Shubman Gill. After winning for the 2022–23 season, Gill has been named the Cricketer of the Year for 2025–26, a testament to his dominance as India’s new all-format captain.

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From the first stroke played by Tendulkar to the modern flair of Gill, this list represents the heartbeat of Indian cricket excellence.

Full List of BCCI Cricketer of the Year Award Winners

SeasonWinner
2024–25Shubman Gill
2023–24Jasprit Bumrah
2022–23Shubman Gill
2021–22Jasprit Bumrah
2020–21Ravichandran Ashwin
2019–20Mohammed Shami
2018–19Jasprit Bumrah
2017–18Virat Kohli
2016–17Virat Kohli
2015–16Virat Kohli
2014–15Virat Kohli
2013–14Bhuvneshwar Kumar
2012–13Ravichandran Ashwin
2011–12Virat Kohli
2010–11Rahul Dravid
2009–10Sachin Tendulkar
2008–09Gautam Gambhir
2007–08Virender Sehwag
2006–07Sachin Tendulkar