Rahul Dravid gets the call. India’s former captain and World Cup-winning coach joins an exclusive club when he receives the CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award at the NAMAN ceremony on March 15, 2026.
It’s been 32 years since Lala Amarnath became the first recipient, and the list has grown to include everyone from spin wizards to opening legends.
The award doesn’t just recognize stats. It honors careers that shaped Indian cricket across generations.
Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar. Names that redefined what Indian cricket could achieve on the world stage.
BCCI Lifetime Achievement Award Winners List
Who Gets the CK Nayudu Award?
The BCCI hands out this lifetime achievement honor during their annual awards ceremony.
It’s named after CK Nayudu, India’s first Test captain. The selection isn’t just about runs and wickets.
It weighs contributions to Indian cricket as a whole.
Dravid’s selection makes sense when you look at his record. Two Test series wins in England as captain.
A T20 World Cup triumph as coach in 2024. The kind of impact that lasts beyond playing days.
Shubman Gill gets the Polly Umrigar Award for Best Men’s International Cricketer at the same ceremony.
He led India to that memorable 2-2 draw in England last year while piling on runs himself.
Complete BCCI Lifetime Achievement Award Winners List
The list spans three decades and covers every era of Indian cricket. Spinners dominate the early years.
The famous spin quartet from the 1960s and 70s all made it. Then came the batting greats who built India’s reputation in the 80s and 90s.
| Year | Winner | Primary Role | Era | Notable Achievement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Lala Amarnath | All-rounder | 1933-1952 | First Indian Test centurion |
| 1995 | Syed Mushtaq Ali | Batsman | 1934-1952 | First Indian Test century overseas |
| 1996 | Vijay Hazare | Batsman | 1946-1953 | First to score Test triple century for India |
| 1997 | KN Prabhu | Wicketkeeper | 1934-1936 | Pioneer wicketkeeper-batsman |
| 1998 | Polly Umrigar | Batsman | 1948-1962 | India’s highest Test scorer until 1983 |
| 1999 | Hemu Adhikari | All-rounder | 1947-1959 | Test captain and administrator |
| 2000 | Subhash Gupte | Bowler | 1951-1962 | Leg-spin pioneer, 149 Test wickets |
| 2001 | Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi | Batsman | 1961-1975 | Youngest Test captain at 21 |
| 2002 | BB Nimbalkar | Batsman | 1940s-1950s | 443 not out in domestic cricket |
| 2003 | Chandu Borde | All-rounder | 1958-1970 | 5,000+ runs and 52 Test wickets |
| 2004 | Bishan Singh Bedi | Bowler | 1966-1979 | Left-arm spin legend, 266 wickets |
| 2004 | Srinivas Venkataraghavan | Bowler | 1965-1983 | Off-spinner, 156 Test wickets |
| 2004 | EAS Prasanna | Bowler | 1962-1978 | Off-spinner, 189 Test wickets |
| 2004 | BS Chandrasekhar | Bowler | 1963-1979 | Leg-spinner, 242 Test wickets |
| 2007 | Nari Contractor | Batsman | 1955-1962 | Opening batsman, career-ending injury survivor |
| 2008 | Gundappa Viswanath | Batsman | 1969-1983 | Stylish middle-order run-scorer |
| 2009 | Mohinder Amarnath | All-rounder | 1969-1989 | 1983 World Cup hero |
| 2010 | Salim Durani | All-rounder | 1960-1973 | Left-arm spinner and hard hitter |
| 2011 | Ajit Wadekar | Batsman | 1966-1974 | Captain of historic wins in the West Indies and England |
| 2012 | Sunil Gavaskar | Batsman | 1971-1987 | First to 10,000 Test runs |
| 2013 | Kapil Dev | All-rounder | 1978-1994 | 1983 World Cup captain, 434 Test wickets |
| 2014 | Dilip Vengsarkar | Batsman | 1976-1992 | Three Lord’s centuries |
| 2015 | Syed Kirmani | Wicketkeeper | 1976-1986 | Premier keeper of his era |
| 2016 | Rajinder Goel | Bowler | 1957-1985 | Domestic cricket legend, 750+ first-class wickets |
| 2016 | Padmakar Shivalkar | Bowler | 1964-1987 | Left-arm spinner, domestic great |
| 2017 | Pankaj Roy | Batsman | 1951-1961 | Opening batsman, world record partnership |
| 2018 | Anshuman Gaekwad | Batsman | 1974-1987 | Gritty opener and coach |
| 2019 | Krishnamachari Srikkanth | Batsman | 1981-1992 | Aggressive opener, 1983 WC opener |
| 2023 | Farokh Engineer | Wicketkeeper | 1961-1975 | Attacking wicketkeeper-batsman |
| 2023 | Ravi Shastri | All-rounder | 1981-1992 | 1985 World Championship winner |
| 2024 | Sachin Tendulkar | Batsman | 1989-2013 | Most Test and ODI runs ever |
| 2026 | Rahul Dravid | Batsman | 1996-2012 | 13,000+ Test runs, World Cup-winning coach |
The Spin Quartet Recognition
2004 stands out. The BCCI honored all four members of India’s legendary spin quartet in one go.
Bedi, Prasanna, Venkataraghavan, and Chandrasekhar terrorized batsmen throughout the 1960s and 70s. They picked up 853 Test wickets between them.
That quartet bowled India to wins when pace attacks dominated world cricket.
They made turning tracks in Chennai and Delhi as dangerous as any seaming wicket in England.
Modern Era Winners
The list started moving faster after 2012. Gavaskar kicked off a run of batting legends.
Kapil Dev followed in 2013. Then Vengsarkar, the man who owned Lord’s with three centuries there.
Recent years brought Tendulkar in 2024, the obvious choice given his unmatched Test and ODI numbers.
Now Dravid joins him. The Wall and the Master Blaster, both on the same list feels right.
My Take: What the Award Really Means?
The gaps between winners tell their own story. Three years passed between Contractor in 2007 and Viswanath in 2008.
The BCCI doesn’t rush these selections. They wait for the right moment.
Domestic legends Rajinder Goel and Padmakar Shivalkar got theirs in 2016.
Neither played Tests, but both took hundreds of first-class wickets.
The award isn’t just about international fame. It’s about contribution to Indian cricket at every level.
The 2023 dual award to Engineer and Shastri made sense. Both from different eras, and both were all-format players before that term existed.
The engineer kept wickets with flair. Shastri ground out runs and picked up crucial wickets.
Winners by Role Breakdown
Batsmen lead the count. That tracks with cricket history, where top-order players get more spotlight. But bowlers aren’t far behind, especially from earlier eras when spin ruled Indian pitches.
The all-rounders on this list changed games. Kapil Dev with ball and bat. Mohinder Amarnath in that 1983 World Cup final. Lala Amarnath started it all back in the 1930s.
Wicketkeepers make up the smallest group. Just three names: Prabhu, Kirmani, and Engineer. The role demanded so much physically that few lasted long enough to build award-worthy careers.
NAMAN Awards Ceremony Plans for 2026
The March 15 ceremony won’t just honor lifetime achievements. Jay Shah confirmed they’re celebrating recent world-level success, too.
That means the 2024 T20 World Cup winners get special recognition.
So do the women’s ODI World Cup champions and the Under-19 boys who won their sixth title in February.
India won three world tournaments in one season. The T20 World Cup last month capped an incredible run.
Those teams built on what Dravid started as coach, which makes his lifetime achievement award timing perfect.
Expert Insight: The Selection Pattern
Looking at the timeline, the BCCI tends to wait until players have been retired for about 10-15 years. Exceptions exist.
Tendulkar got his in 2024, 11 years after retiring. Dravid will get his 14 years after his last Test.
The earlier winners often got recognition much later. Lala Amarnath received his award 42 years after his last Test match.
The system has sped up. The BCCI now moves faster to honor recent greats while they can enjoy the recognition.
Domestic cricketers without Test caps break the pattern.
Goel and Shivalkar proved you don’t need international stats if your first-class record speaks loudly enough. Both took over 600 wickets in domestic cricket.
Related BCCI Awards at NAMAN 2026
The Polly Umrigar Award goes to the best men’s international cricketer each year.
Gill gets it this time after his England heroics. Bumrah won it in 2024.
The award sits one tier below the lifetime achievement but carries serious weight.
Women cricketers get separate recognition.
The ceremony includes awards for best women’s international cricketer, best domestic player, and emerging talent.
The recent ODI World Cup win means those awards carry extra significance this year.
Winners List Availability
The complete BCCI Lifetime Achievement Award winners list appears on the board’s official website.
Cricket fans searching for PDFs often find unofficial compilations, but the BCCI site has the verified records.
Each NAMAN ceremony adds new names. The 2026 list now includes 32 recipients across cricket’s timeline.
That number will keep growing as more legends retire and establish their legacies.
FAQs
- Q: Who was the first BCCI Lifetime Achievement Award winner?
Lala Amarnath received the first award in 1994. He was India’s first Test centurion and a pioneer of Indian cricket.
- Q: How many cricketers have won the BCCI Lifetime Achievement Award?
32 cricketers have received the award from 1994 through 2026, including Rahul Dravid’s upcoming honor on March 15.
- Q: Can domestic cricketers win without playing Tests?
Yes. Rajinder Goel and Padmakar Shivalkar won in 2016 despite never playing Test cricket. Their first-class records earned the recognition.
- Q: Who is the youngest recipient of the award?
The award goes to retired cricketers, so age at receiving matters less than career achievement. Most winners are in their 60s or 70s when honored.
- Q: What is the NAMAN awards ceremony?
NAMAN is the BCCI’s annual awards function, where they honor players, coaches, and contributors across all levels of Indian cricket.
What’s Next for the Award?
The list will keep expanding as more modern greats retire.
Names like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin sit on the horizon.
The BCCI has decades of future ceremonies ahead.
Dravid’s inclusion in 2026 sets the stage for the next generation.
The award has evolved from honoring pioneers to celebrating modern champions.
The 32-year tradition continues growing stronger with each ceremony.
Also Check:
- IPL Orange Cap Winners List
- IPL Winners & Runner Ups List
- Indian Players Who Have Won the Most IPL Trophies
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