Indian Cricket

Bhuvneshwar named BCCI player of the year

India seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the winner of the Polly Umrigar Award for 2013-14, the BCCI has announced. Former India captain, Dilip Vengsarkar, will receive the CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award. The awards will be handed out in Mumbai on November 21.

Bhuvneshwar scored 263 runs and took 22 wickets in seven Tests during the qualification period between October 2013 and September 2014. He was one of the bright spots for India during an otherwise disappointing Test series in England, scoring 247 runs with the bat and taking 19 wickets at 26.63. His unbeaten 63 helped the side draw the first Test at Trent Bridge and during the Lord's Test, that India won, Bhuvneshwar contributed with a six-for in the first innings and a crucial half-century in India's second innings. In 22 ODIs during the same period, he took 17 wickets.

Vengsarkar, one of India's batting greats, is best known for being the first batsman to score three centuries against England at Lord's. He became the second player, after Sunil Gavaskar, to play 100 Tests for India and was also a member of the 1983 World Cup-winning team. Over a career spanning 16 years, Vengsarkar scored 6868 runs in 116 Tests and 3508 runs in 129 ODIs. He also led the side in 10 Tests between 1987 and 1989. Vengsarkar will receive Rs 25 lakh as part of the award, while Bhuvneshwar will be awarded Rs 5 lakh.

Jammu & Kashmir allrounder Parvez Rasool was named the best allrounder in the 2013-14 Ranji Trophy - he scored 663 runs and took 27 wickets in nine games - while Vinay Kumar, who captained Karnataka to a domestic treble last season won the best allrounder in domestic limited-overs competitions. Kedar Jadhav - 1223 runs - and Rishi Dhawan - 49 wickets - were awarded for finishing as the leading run-scorer and wicket-taker respectively in Ranji Trophy 2013-14.

Eighteen-year-old India Women's batsman Smriti Mandhana, who scored an important half-century during the side's Test win against England Women in August, was named best woman cricketer.