Virat Kohli set to receive Polly Umrigar Award

While Kohli is set to bag the top honour in the men’s category, Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana will earn their maiden awards in the women’s category.

Virat Kohli will be presented with the prestigious Polly Umrigar Award for the best international cricketer (2016-17 and 2017-18) at the BCCI awards.

India skipper Virat Kohli will be presented with the prestigious Polly Umrigar Award for the best international cricketer (2016-17 and 2017-18) at the BCCI awards to be held in Bengaluru on June 12.

While Kohli is set to bag the top honour in the men’s category, Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana will earn their maiden awards in the women’s category.

Kaur and Mandhana will be presented with the best international cricketer (women) award for 2016-17 and 2017-18 respectively.

READ: Deepti Sharma nominated for Jagmohan Dalmiya Trophy

In honour of late board president Jagmohan Dalmiya, there will be four awards.

The Jagmohan Dalmiya Trophy will be presented to the leading run-scorer and wicket-taker in the U-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy. There will be prizes for the best junior and senior cricketer among the women.

The BCCI has also raised prize money for nine categories by Rs. 1 lakh; the revised prize money is Rs. 1.5 lakh.

The Cricket Association of Bengal has been adjudged the best state association for their consistent performance in BCCI domestic tournaments for the 2016-17 season, while Delhi and Districts Cricket Association will be honoured in the same category for the 2017-18 season.

CoA chairman Vinod Rai said, “I congratulate all the winners of the BCCI annual awards. 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.”

Diana Edulji, member CoA, said, “This year, we will be presenting awards for the past two seasons and it is going to be a big occasion ahead of the historic Test against Afghanistan. For the first time, an award category for the best international cricketer (woman) has been introduced and it is a step in the right direction.”

BCCI acting president, C.K. Khanna said, “The BCCI annual awards is an occasion where former greats of the game, the present generation and the stars of tomorrow come under one roof. For BCCI, it is an opportunity to show its gratitude towards cricketers who enrich this game with their skills and hard work.”

BCCI CEO Rahul Johri said, “Every year we have champion players delivering champion performances. Awards help boost a player's confidence and we only hope that we get more noteworthy performances in the season to follow.”