After winning the ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year award for 2024, India’s Jasprit Bumrah has added another feather to his hat, as he was also named the ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year for 2024 and won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the same.
Jasprit Bumrah had an excellent year in T20Is and Tests. He was part of India’s T20 World Cup 2024 winning squad. His 15 wickets came at an astonishing average of 8.26 and an economy of just 4.17, making him the Player of the Tournament.
He was crucial for India in Tests as well, taking 71 wickets, considerably ahead of England's Gus Atkinson (52 in 11). His average for the year was a ridiculous 14.92, and he finished 2024 with an annual strike rate of only 30.1.
Bumrah's 71-wicket total makes him only the fourth Indian bowler to take over 70 Test wickets in a calendar year, after Ravichandran Ashwin, Anil Kumble, and Kapil Dev.
Bumrah began the year by helping India win the Cape Town Test against South Africa when he took eight wickets in two innings. He then crushed England at home, taking 19 wickets in four Tests as India won by 1-4.
However, his best performance occurred during the BGT 2024-25 tour of Australia. He concluded with an astounding 32 wickets in five Tests and was voted Player of the Series. Throughout the series, Bumrah also reached 200 Test wickets, becoming the 12th Indian bowler to do so.
Jasprit Bumrah became the 5th Indian to win the ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year award after Rahul Dravid (2004), Sachin Tendulkar (2010), Ravichandran Ashwin (2016), and Virat Kohli (2017, 2018).
The current ICC Test Rankings No.1 bowler became the fastest Indian pacer to reach 200 Test wickets, doing it with a bowling average of less than 20 - the best in history.
The pacer's success was reflected in his ICC Test Bowling Rankings, when he surpassed the elusive 900-point threshold to finish the year with a record-breaking 907 points, the most by any Indian bowler in history.
(ICC inputs)
