Castrol Awards 2008–09

THE CASTROL AWARDS FOR CRICKETING EXCELLENCE WERE INSTITUTED BY CASTROL IN 1997 TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOUR THE PRESENT, PAST AND FUTURE OF INDIAN CRICKET. THE MAIN AWARDS INCLUDE THE CASTROL INDIAN CRICKETER OF THE YEAR, THE CASTROL JUNIOR CRICKETER OF THE YEAR AND THE CASTROL LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD. THE PERIOD OF EVALUATION FOR THE CASTROL AWARDS ARE BASED ON THE CALENDAR YEAR I.E. JANUARY – DECEMBER.

Background and History

Traditionally, the three main awards presented at the annual Castrol Awards are:

Castrol Indian Cricketer of the Year
Castrol Junior Cricketer of the Year
Castrol Lifetime Achievement in Cricket

Castrol Indian Cricketer of the Year

The Castrol Indian Cricketer of the Year Award is a democratic award based on the performances of Indian cricketers at the international level. The award is based on a two-tiered system which is based on points as well as a voting process. Points are calculated on the basis of performances in all international matches and the top five point-getters are shortlisted for the next stage which is a voting system. All Indian cricketers who have played at least one Test and / or five one-day internationals are invited to vote for the Castrol Indian Cricketer of the Year. Thus, the award is just not based on quantitative data, but qualitative judgement as well. Over the years, this Award has been shared between Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar.

Castrol Junior Cricketer of the Year

The Castrol Junior Cricketer of the Year award recognizes the performances of cricketers in the under-19 age-group in junior-level and domestic tournaments. Previous winners of this Award include : Jyoti Yadav, Rajesh Pawar, Yuvraj Singh, Ajay Ratra, Parthiv Patel, Ambati Rayudu, Shikar Dhawan and Piyush Chawla.

Castrol Lifetime Achievement in Cricket Award

The Castrol Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes and rewards outstanding contribution to Indian cricket. The contenders for this award could be cricketers, coaches, umpires, administrators or media persons - anyone who is considered to have contributed to the cause of Indian cricket. Previous winners include : Capt Vijay Hazare, Polly Umrigar, B S Chandrasekhar, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Erapalli Prasanna.

Special Awards

In addition to the above categories, Special Awards are also given away each year for outstanding achievement in cricket. Over the years, the Special Award winners have included Diana Edulji, Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami for women’s cricket, Virender Sehwag (for becoming India’s first triple centurian), Anil Kumble (highest wicket taker in Tests) and Sachin Tendulkar (35 Test hundreds) amongst others.

New Awards from 2008

The following additional awards have been introduced in 2008 and will be given away on an annual basis:

Castrol Test Cricketer of the Year
Castrol ODI Cricketer of the Year
Castrol Batsman of the Year
Castrol Bowler of the Year

CELEBRATING A DECADE OF THE CASTROL CRICKET AWARDS AND THE PLATINUM JUBILEE OF INDIA’S INAUGURAL TEST MATCH

In 2007 – the tenth year of the Awards, the format of the Award was changed to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of India’s inaugural Test match. India’s 75 Test-playing years from 1932 to 2007 were divided into six eras, and the best cricketer of each ear was felicitated. The awardees were:

Late Col. C. K. Nayudu 1932 – 1947
Late Vinoo Mankad 1947 – 1961
MAK Pataudi 1961 – 1971
Sunil Gavaskar 1971 – 1981
Kapil Dev 1981 – 1997
Sachin Tendulkar-Rahul Dravid (shared) 1997 - 2006

The function was attended by former Indian captains Nari Contractor, Bishan Singh Bedi, Chandu Border and former cricketers E. Prasanna, B.S.Chandrasekhar. Sourav Ganguly received the Castrol award for being India’s most successful captain.

Awarding Methodology

The annual Castrol Awards for Cricketing Excellence initially took into account Tests and one-day internationals played by India from 1st October to 30th September. From 2006, the calendar year – 1st January to 31st December – has been considered the ‘Castrol’ year.

The methodology adopted to select the winners in the main categories is as follows:

I. Castrol Indian Cricketer of the Year Award:

The winner is selected through a process that has two stages.
In the first stage, performances by Indians in Tests and one-day internationals in the Castrol Cricket Year are rated in the following categories:

Aggregate - Tests / ODIs; Wickets - Tests / ODIs; Batting average – Tests / ODIs; Bowling average - Tests / ODIs; Catches taken - Tests / ODIs.

Points are then allotted to each player in each of the categories in descending order. Thus, the highest scorer in tests gets 10 points, the second-highest gets 9 points, the third-highest gets 8 and so on. Similarly, the highest scorer in one-day internationals gets 10 points, the second highest gets 9 and so on. The same holds for the other categories. At the end of the Castrol Year, the aggregate of the points gained by every player in all ten categories is computed and the players with the top five aggregates are declared the nominees for the Castrol Indian Cricketer of the Year Award.

In the second stage, a 'ballot form' comprising the names of the five nominees and a summary of their performances in tests and one-day internationals (with stats) is sent to all the living cricketers who have represented India in at least one test or five one-day internationals. They are asked to 'vote' for one of the five nominees and the player who receives the highest number of votes is declared the winner. The voting is by secret ballot and is monitored by Professional Management Group.

II. Castrol Junior Cricketer of the Year:

Performances of under-19 cricketers in under-19 / under-17 / under-15 level tournaments in the CASTROL Year are taken into account, as also performances in the Ranji Trophy by cricketers from this age-group. Maximum weightage is given to cricketers who have represented India in international junior-level tournaments like the Under-19 World Cup / Asia Cup or have been part of the India 'A' team on overseas tours. Performances are scrutinized and a list of 15 players is sent to a panel of judges who have been associated with junior cricket. They are asked to recommend five nominees for the award and then pick one from among the five whom they feel deserves the award the most.

III. Lifetime Achievement Award

This award is presented to a personality who has brought laurels to Indian cricket with consistent and outstanding performances that earned him the adulation of the countrymen and respect of his opponents.