JOIN US Former stumper Syed Kirmani was bestowed with the prestigious Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Indian cricket, while Test captain Virat Kohli bagged the Polly Umrigar Trophy for Cricketer of the Year in the BCCI annual awards night here on Tuesday.
The 66-year-old former India cricketer and member of the 1983 World Cup-winning squad was presented the award by BCCI president president Shashank Manohar.
The coveted Polly Umrigar award was also handed over to Kohli by Manohar.
Kirmani took a mild dig at modern wicketkeepers when asked about the difference from his time to the present day. “These days it’s not about wicketkeeping techniques but just about producing results. Dhoni has been able to do it,” he said before praising the limited overs skipper, who was in the audience and grinning: “Good job, Dhoni.”
“The only thing in my mind when playing was to do well and keep the tri colour flying. I thank the BCCI for honouring me with the award,” he added.
“I am proud to have kept wickets to the three spin legends – Erapalli Prasanna, B S Chandrasekar and Bishen Bedi,” he said.
Kohli said that the greatest moment of his career so far is the Test series in Australia, which India lost 0-2, but not before giving a tough fight to the hosts.
“It is important to start the year well and we were able to do so in Australia. I compliment the entire team. It was the greatest moment of my career so far and would probably remain so,” he said.
Karnataka State Cricket Association won the best state association of the year honour for achieving the treble of winning the Ranji Trophy, Irani Cup and Vijay Hazare Trophy in the 2014-15 season.
List of award winners: Col C K Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award: Syed Kirmani
Polly Umrigar Award (for Cricketer of the Year): Virat Kohli
Lala Amarnath Awards: Best all-rounder in the Ranji trophy: Jalaj Saxena, Madhya Pradesh (583 runs and 17 wickets from 8 games)
Best all-rounder in domestic limited-overs competitions: Deepak Hooda, Baroda
Madhavrao Scindia Awards for feats in Ranji Trophy: Highest run-getter: Robin Uthappa, Karnataka (912 runs from 11 games)
Highest wicket-takers: R Vinaykumar, Karnataka (48 wickets from 10 games and Shardul Thakur, Mumbai (48 wickets from 10 games)
MA Chidambaram Trophy awards: Best under-23 cricketer: Almas Shaukat, Uttar Pradesh Best under-19 cricketer: Anmolpreet Singh, Punjab
Best under-16 cricketer: Shubman Gill, Punjab. Best senior woman cricketer: Mithali Raj, Railways. Best junior woman cricketer: Devika Vaidya, Maharashtra. Best umpire in domestic cricket: O Nandan, Karnataka. Best overall performance: Karnataka State Cricket Association – 14 points.