Dhoni named Castrol Indian cricketer of the year

The Castrol Awards for Cricketing Excellence in 2011 were given away at a star studded awards ceremony held in Bengaluru today. The ceremony was attended by eminent cricketers like Erapalli Prasanna, Ajit Wadekar, Syed Kirmani, Gundappa Vishwanath, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Venkatesh Prasad, Ravinchandran Ashwin, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, and junior cricketer Unmukt Chand.

The Castrol Awards for Cricketing Excellence are the premier cricketing awards recognizing outstanding performances by Indian cricketers - past, present and future.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni was declared the Castrol Indian Cricketer of the Year 2011 whilst Ajit Wadekar received the Castrol Lifetime Achievement Award and India's Under 19 World Cup winning Captain Unmukt Chand was awarded the Castrol Junior Cricketer of the Year Award.

Commenting on the Castrol Lifetime Achievement Award bestowed upon him, Ajit Wadekar said: "It is indeed an honour to receive the Castrol Lifetime Achievement Award. I am delighted that Castrol is not just focusing on the present but also on the past and future cricketers."

India Under 19 Captain, Unmukt Chand, fresh from his Under 19 World Cup win, was delighted to receive the Castrol Junior Cricketer of the Year Award for 2011. Commenting on the Award, Unmukt said: "It is my privilege to receive the Castrol Junior Cricketer of the Year Award specially as it was handed over to me by Virat who has been an Under 19 World Cup winning Captain himself and a real inspiration not just to me but my team mates as well."

The other prestigious awards given away during the evening included:

Sachin Tendulkar (Castrol Batsman of the Year)

Ravichandran Ashwin (Castrol Bowler of the Year)

Rahul Dravid (Castrol Test Cricketer of the Year)

Suresh Raina (Castrol ODI Cricketer of the Year

Castrol Special Achievement Awards were also given away to Yuvraj Singh (for outstanding performance during the ICC World Cup 2011), Virender Sehwag (Highest run scorer in ODIs) and Sachin Tendulkar (for his 100th century).

Two new awards were also instituted this year for performance under pressure. The Castrol stand-out Performance Under Pressure Award was presented to Gautam Gambhir for his outstanding performance in the ICC 2011 World Cup final. The Castrol Performance Under Pressure Award for the player who consistently delivered under pressure throughout the year, was won by Virat Kohli.