da betobet： The BCCI put on a show to match (and in some ways outdo) the ICC awards last night, when they handed out the CK Nayudu awards for lifetime achievement in Indian cricket
Anand Vasu at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai04-Nov-2006
‘The presence of Mohammad Azharuddin – which initially raised eyebrows among the ICC – did not cause a negative stir’ © Getty Images
The BCCI put on a show to match (and in some ways outdo) the ICC awards last night, when they handed out the CK Nayudu awards for lifetime achievement in Indian cricketand felicitated former chiefs of the board and captains of the Test team.Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag were the glamour boys,but it was an evening where the achievements of several greats, the spinquartet in particular, were fondly remembered.A red carpet stretching from the Vinoo Mankad Gate well inside theWankhede Stadium led to an impressive podium set up in front of the SachinTendulkar stand, and on it Ravi Shastri, a former Indian captain himself,acted as the master of ceremonies reading out a roll call of names thatwould impress any cricket fans. And Shastri, unlike some of the Bollywoodbeauties who chattered on and on during the ICC awards, did notmispronounce any cricketers’ names. This was a function for thecricketers, by the cricketers, crisp and to the point, and in that sensefar more enjoyable than the one the ICC had put up at a considerably greater expense.The CK Nayudu Awards for Lifetime achievement were conferred by the famousspin quartet of Bishan Bedi, Bhagwat Chandrashekar, Erapalli Prasanna andS Venkataraghavan as well as Nawab Ali Khan ‘Tiger’ Pataudi and Chandu Borde, former captains of India, and BB Nimbalkar, whose record score of 443 is stillthe highest by an Indian in first-class cricket. The Nayudu Award comeswith a citation and Rs 5,00,000 in cash, an increase from the Rs 2,00,000the previous awardees used to received.The BCCI also used the day to formally inaugurate their headquarters, abuilding housed in the Wankhede Stadium that has been constructed inrecord time. Interestingly, the presence of Mohammad Azharuddin – which initially raised eyebrows among the ICC – did not cause a negative stir. Instead, he was one of the star attractions among the media and the officials of the cricket board.Three former captains – Polly Umrigar, who is ailing, Sourav Ganguly, whois playing in the Duleep Trophy, and Kapil Dev – were not present. Amongformer board presidents BN Dutt, Jagmohan Dalmiya – no real surprise there- and AC Muthiah, did not turn up. That apart, the function was anunqualified success and, just in case you thought Bollywood was notrepresented, Saif Ali Khan, the son of Tiger Pataudi, was very much aroundwith his two children in tow, as was Sangeeta Bijlani, wife of Azharuddin.And they certainly beat anyone the ICC could throw up – barring PreityZinta, who endorses Hyundai, the sponsors of the ICC awards – in starvalue.List of CK Nayudu awardees: BB Nimbalkar, MAK Pataudi, Chandu Borde,Bishan Bedi, Bhagwat Chandrashekar, Erapalli Prasanna, S Venkataraghavan.Past presidents felicitated: PM Rungta, NKP Salve, BN Dutt (absent), ISBindra, Raj Singh Dungarpur, AC Muthiah, Jagmohan Dalmiya (both absent),Ranbir Singh Mahendra.Past captains felicitated: Nari Contractor, MAK Pataudi, Chandu Borde,Polly Umrigar, Ajit Wadekar, S Venkataraghavan, Bishan Bedi, GR Visvanath,Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Dilip Vengsarkar, Ravi Shastri, KrishnamachariSrikkanth, Mohammad Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, RahulDravid, Virender Sehwag.