Shubman Gill to be Honored as ‘Cricketer of the Year’, Dravid to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award

Shubman Gill, the captain of Team India’s Test and ODI squads, is poised to be recognized as the ‘Cricketer of the Year’ at the BCCI’s annual awards ceremony on March 15. Although he wasn’t selected for India’s T20 World Cup 2026 roster, Gill has had an impressive run in both Tests and ODIs. He scored a remarkable 983 runs in Test matches, including a standout 754 runs during the 2025 series against England, boasting an impressive average exceeding 70. In ODIs, he contributed 490 runs, including a key 188 runs in India’s triumphant Champions Trophy campaign. Overall, he accumulated 1,764 runs across all formats, maintaining an average of 49, with seven centuries and three half-centuries. While his international T20 performance was less stellar, he excelled in the IPL, scoring 650 runs for the Gujarat Titans. Meanwhile, former Team India coach Rahul Dravid will be honored with the prestigious Col. CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award, having led the ‘Men in Blue’ to victory in the 2024 T20 World Cup. Additionally, the Mumbai Cricket Association is set to be named the Best Association in the domestic circuit. Looking ahead, the IPL 2026 will commence on March 28, with the schedule for the first 20 matches already announced. The tournament will kick off with a clash between defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The Karnataka State Cricket Association confirmed that this venue will host five of RCB’s home games, along with one playoff and the final. Following RCB’s recent triumph, fans gathered outside the stadium in large numbers, leading to tragic incidents during the celebrations, which resulted in 11 fatalities and many injuries due to a stampede.