Kohli to be conferred with Polly Umrigar Award

Following his phenomenal performance in the last two seasons, Indian skipper Virat Kohli will be presented with the prestigious Polly Umrigar Award for the best international cricketer at the BCCI Annual Awards to be held in Bengaluru on June 12.

The BCCI Awards recognizes and honours the top domestic and international cricketers across all age groups.

While Virat gets top honours in the men's category, Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana are set to be maiden recipients of the award for best international cricketer (women) for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 season, respectively.

To honour one of its finest administrators, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has rechristened four awards in remembrance of Late Jagmohan Dalmiya. The Jagmohan Dalmiya Trophy will be presented to the leading run-scorer and wicket-taker respectively in the U-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy and to the best junior and senior cricketer in women's cricket.

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

The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has been adjudged the best state association, owing to their consistent performances in the BCCI domestic tournaments for the 2016-17 season while the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) gets the prize for the 2017-18 season.

Talking about the same, 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."

Echoing similar views, BCCI acting president CK 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."

Meanwhile, BCCI CEO Rahul Johri insisted that an award help in boosting a player's confidence, adding that he is looking forward to see more noteworthy performances in the upcoming season.