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Jasprit Bumrah took 71 wickets in just 13 Tests in 2024 — the most he has done in a calendar year.
Jasprit Bumrah (Credit: AP)
Indian vice-captain and ace fast-bowler Jasprit Bumrah is among the four nominees for the International Cricket Council (ICC) men’s ‘Test Cricketer of the Year’ Award for 2024. He’ll compete with England’s Joe Root and Harry Brook and Sri Lanka’s Kamindu Mendis for the prestigious award.
Bumrah had a stunning 2024 in the longest format of the game. In 13 matches, he took a whopping 71 wickets — one more than his combined tally for the last four years — at an average of 14.92. He recorded as many as five five-wicket hauls in the year, three in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia and one each against South Africa and England.
Bumrah started the year with spells of 2/25 and 6/61 against the Proteas at Newlands. He followed that by picking up 19 wickets in the five-Test home series against England, which was played on mostly spin-friendly tracks.
India hosted Bangladesh for a two-Test series next and picked up another nine wickets as the hosts won 2-0. The three home Tests against New Zealand — of which Bumrah played just the first two — were his most difficult as he picked just three at the Chinnaswamy and went wicketless in Pune.
In either case, not many could’ve predicted what he’d do in Australia. He started with a 5/30 in Perth as the stand-in captain, blowing away the hosts and leading India to a historic win. As the rest of his attack struggled for consistency in Adelaide and Brisbane, he picked up 13 wickets in the four innings.
He concluded the year with nine more wickets in Perth, though his efforts went in vain as India lost by 184 runs.
He’ll face stiff competition from Root, Mendis and Brook. Root was the highest run-scorer in Tests in 2024 with 1556 runs at an average of 55.57, with six centuries and five fifties.
Mendis and Brook had their breakthrough years in the format. The former joint-became the third-fastest to reach 1000 Test runs – equalling Don Bradman’s 13-innings mark. His average of 74.92 was the best among all batters who played more than two Tests in 2024.
Brook scored 1100 runs from 12 Tests at 55. He scored four centuries and three fifties in the year, including a 317 off 322 deliveries against Pakistan.
