After his best-ever performance in the red-ball format, Indian pace wonder Jasprit Bumrah was named the 2024 ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
In 2024, Bumrah was the most impressive bowler in the globe, performing well both at home and away and helping to keep India competitive in the ICC globe Test Championship rankings.
After a lengthy break owing to a back injury, Bumrah made his Test cricket comeback in late 2023, setting several records and amassing an astounding wicket total.
The right-arm fast played a key role in India’s series victories over Bangladesh and England at home. He also performed admirably in South Africa and Australia away from home.
With 71 wickets, Bumrah topped the 2024 Test cricket statistics and was far ahead of England’s Gus Atkinson, who came in second with 52 wickets in 11 games. In a time when Test cricket was known for its high scoring, he bowled an incredible 357 overs in the format while keeping an incredible average of 2.96.
He finished 2024 with a yearly strike rate of only 30.1, and his year-over-year average was an impressive 14.92.
With his 71-wicket total, Bumrah joins Ravichandran Ashwin, Anil Kumble, and Kapil Dev as the only other Indian bowlers to capture more than 70 Test wickets in a single year.
Bumrah’s average was the lowest of 17 bowlers in Test history to take more than 70 wickets in a single year.
Bumrah’s incredible 2024 haul started when India defeated South Africa in a historic Test match in Cape Town. He took eight wickets in two innings as India defeated the Proteas by eight wickets.
Then, when India defeated England 4-1 in the home five-Test series, he claimed 19 wickets.
But in the high-stakes Border-Gavaskar Series in Australia, the seasoned bowler produced his masterpiece, taking an astonishing 32 wickets from five Test matches and winning Player of the Series.
Bumrah became the 12th bowler from India to reach the 200 Test wicket mark during the series in Australia. In addition, he became the first bowler in Test history to have an average of less than 20 while taking at least 200 wickets (19.4).
The series opener versus Australia in Perth was one of Bumrah’s most memorable performances. Bumrah took up as captain when India didn’t have full-time captain Rohit Sharma, and he led from the front in a historic victory.
Bumrah created havoc with the ball, taking five wickets for 30 runs to regain the momentum after India was bowled out for 150 on the first day. Australia suffered their first defeat at the site as Bumrah returned with three more wickets to complete a historic 295-run victory after India established a massive total of 534.