From Lala Amarnath to Rahul Dravid: BCCI Lifetime Achievement Award winners complete list

Rahul Dravid, one of the greatest cricketers to have not won a World Cup himself, but having guided the Under-19 and Senior men’s team to the world titles, would be now honoured with the greatest award in Indian cricket — the CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award for 2025-26. 

The announcement was made on March 12, three days ahead of the official BCCI annual NAMAN Awards ceremony to be held in Delhi. But before Dravid, several other cricketers have been honoured with the prestigious award, which was established in 1994. Even the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT), Sachin Tendulkar has also been honoured with it. 

Who won the first BCCI Lifetime Achievement Award?

The journey began with the legendary Lala Amarnath in 1994 — India’s first Test centurion and a pioneer who laid the foundation for the nation’s cricketing identity. 

After Lala Amarnath and before Rahul Dravid, who all won the BCCI Lifetime Achievement Award?

From the elegance of Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Hazare to the dominant spinners Bishan Singh Bedi and E.A.S. Prasanna, the award has celebrated every era of the sport.

The list includes transformative captains like Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, Sunil Gavaskar, and Kapil Dev, alongside tactical masterminds like Ajit Wadekar and Dilip Vengsarkar. In recent years, the spotlight has shifted to the modern icons who globalized the Indian brand. Farokh Engineer and Ravi Shastri were honored in 2023, followed by the “Master Blaster” Sachin Tendulkar in 2025—a fitting tribute to a 24-year career that defined a generation.

Why is Rahul Dravid being given the BCCI Lifetime Achievement Award? 

Dravid is set to be conferred with the honor at the BCCI Naman Awards on March 15 for his unique legacy. He has 24,000 international runs. But more than that, as head coach of the U-19 team and director of the National Cricket Academy (NCA), now Centre of Excellence (CoE) of BCCI, Dravid nurtured young minds and then also guided the senior team to the 2024 T20 World Cup title.

Chronological List of Awardees of the BCCI Lifetime Achievement Award, officially called the Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award