Explained: What's the story behind BCCI's 'Naman' awards

BCCI's annual awards took place in Mumbai on February 1, where 27 awards were distributed across various genres.

Who were the award-winners at BCCI's Naman awards?

Jasprit Bumrah and Smriti Mandhana bagged the biggest awards of the night - the best international cricketer (men and women, respectively). Sachin Tendulkar received the Col. CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement award, while R Ashwin, who retired from international cricket last year, was given a BCCI special award.

You can find the full list of award winners at the BCCI annual awards here.

Why 'Naman' awards?

The BCCI awards were first rolled out in the 2006-07 season, honouring the best domestic and international cricketers of the past year. The Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement award, one given to a former player, however, was first presented in the year 1984.

In the year 2013, BCCI introduced the Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi Memorial Lecture as well, an annual event established to honour the former India captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, who died in 2011.

In 2017, BCCI merged the fifth MAK Pataudi Memorial Lecture and its 2016-17 annual awards function into one event, which was given the name 'Naman', a Hindi word meaning 'bowing down in salutation'. Since then, the BCCI awards has been known as the 'Naman' awards every year.

So far, eight memorial lectures have been delivered, with the last one being delivered by Virender Sehwag in 2019. Here's the full list of lecturers.