Former India captains Krishnamachari Srikkanth and Anjum Chopra are set to be given this year’s CK Nayudu Lifetime Award given by the BCCI.
The BCCI Annual Award function will be held in Mumbai on January 12 ahead of the first ODI against Australia on January 14.
“Srikkanth and Anjum will be conferred with the Lifetime Achievement award for their contributions to Indian cricket. Everyone in BCCI feels that they are perfect choices for the award,” a BCCI source told PTI on condition of anonymity.
Srikkanth, a member of the 1983 World Cup winning team, represented India between 1981 to 1992. The 60-year-old played 43 Tests, scoring 2062 runs with two hundreds and 12 half-centuries.
However, it was ODI cricket where he was a trailblazer, way ahead of his time hitting those audacious hook shots off fast bowlers without wearing a helmet.
His crowning glory certainly was the top score of 38 in the World Cup final in 1983 against a fearsome West Indies attack comprising Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner, Andy Roberts and Michael Holding.
He also scored a half-century against Pakistan in the Benson and Hedges World Championship of Cricket final in 1985.
Srikkanth was briefly appointed captain in 1989 for a tough tour of Pakistan where Sachin Tendulkar made his international debut. He retired in 1992 after the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand and then from 2009-12 served as the chairman of national selection committee.
It was the Srikkanth-led committe that selected the Indian squad for the 2011 World Cup.
He was also associated with the IPL side Chennai Super Kings during its initial years and has been an analyst on various platforms including TV, print and digital.
The 42-year-old Anjum is considered to be one of India’s finest batters before Mithali Raj. A left-hander, Chopra played 12 Tests scoring 548 runs, 127 ODIs in which she scored a hundred and 18 fifties as well as 18 T20 Internationals.
She was a part of the Indian team that played in the their first World Cup final in 2005, where they lost to Australia.