Thakur, Lad and Mhatre shine at MCA’s annual honours night

Shardul Thakur and Siddhesh Lad were named Cricketers of the Year as the Mumbai Cricket Association staged its annual awards ceremony on Wednesday. The pair received the Justice Tendulkar Trophy for the 2024‑25 and 2025‑26 seasons, respectively, during an evening attended by former India greats Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Rajeev Kulkarni and Diana Edulji, alongside state ministers Ashish Shelar and Aditi Tatkare.

The MCA also honoured Ayush Mhatre for captaining India to the Under‑19 Men’s World Cup title, while several Mumbai‑based players and coaches involved in recent global triumphs were recognised, including Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Sanika Chalke, Abhigyan Kundu, Jemimah Rodrigues, Amol Muzumdar and Aavishkar Salvi. Champion state teams across multiple age groups and formats received accolades as well. Lifetime Achievement Awards went to Shobha Pandit and Shrikant Tigdi for 2025‑26, and Chandrakant Patankar and Ravindra Savant for 2024‑25. MCA president Ajinkya Naik praised Mumbai’s enduring cricketing standards.