The BCCI Naman Awards 2026 provided a moment that will be etched in the history of Indian sports forever. While the spotlight often shines brightest on the men’s game, Smriti Mandhana just achieved the unthinkable.
By picking up her fifth BCCI International Cricketer of the Year award, Mandhana has officially levelled the score with ViratKohli. The “5-5” deadlock could signal a seismic shift in the narrative of who truly owns the throne of Indian cricket.
The elite ‘five-star’ Club
For years, Virat Kohli’s five Polly Umrigar trophies (2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018) were viewed as a peak that no contemporary could reach. Even as the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Shubman Gill (who won his second tonight) dominated their respective seasons, Kohli’s consistency remained unparalleled.
Until tonight.
Mandhana’s 2024-25 season was a masterclass in modern batting. With 1,703 international runs and a record-breaking five ODI centuries in a single year, she dominated a calendar like few others. Her 50-ball ODI century against Australia last year even surpassed Kohli’s famous 52-ball ton for the fastest century by an Indian in an ODI, men or women, proving that she is setting a faster pace.
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The World Cup Factor: While Kohli has been a pillar of India’s white-ball dominance, Mandhana was the heartbeat of India’s maiden Women’s ODI World Cup victory in 2025, finishing as the team’s top scorer, a monumental feat for the women’s sport in India. Kohli too won the ODI World Cup in 2011 but the women’s achievement means far more in the context in which it came.
At 29, Mandhana has reached the 5-Award milestone faster than Kohli did. With Kohli now retired from T20Is and Tests, Mandhana has a clear runway to become the first-ever Indian to reach six, seven or even eight titles. Mandhana had also become the first female batter in history to surpass 1,000 ODI runs in a single calendar year, meaning that in the women’s sport she is already among the best.
A new era of equals
As Shubman Gill accepted his second Polly Umrigar award tonight. While Gill may equal Kohli’s record in the future, for now it’s Mandhana’s feat that deserves acknowledgement.
In a country where cricket is a religion, women cricketers are at par with men and not behind. The BCCI has already announced pay parity, meaning the men and women cricketers receive equal match fees even though there is still some time before parity happens in the annual central contracts offered by the BCCI.