dubai: Operating at a level rarely seen in the game before, India’s peerless fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah was on Monday nominated for the ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year award and also featured in the list for the best player in the Test format.
Bumrah, who has left the Australian batters scrambling for survival with his incredible display of fast bowling in the ongoing five-match series Down Under, has been nominated for the top award, named after legendary West Indies all-rounder Sir Garfield Sobers, alongside England’s prolific duo of Joe Root and Harry Brook, with swashbuckling Australian batter Travis Head completing the list.
Besides Bumrah, who has been at the top of his game throughout 2024, Root, Brook and Sri Lanka’s Kamindu Mendis featured in the list for the Test Cricketer of the Year award.
Bumrah has been the best bowler in Test cricket in 2024 with 71 wickets from 13 matches at an average of 14.92 and a strike rate of 30.16, the best figures for any bowler.
The right-arm pacer has also been the top bowler in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with 30 wickets in a mere four Tests.
“Having returned to the Test arena following his recovery from a recurring back injury in 2023, Bumrah dominated the bowling charts in 2024. Featuring across 13 Tests in the calendar year, Bumrah delivered his best-ever annual tally — 71 wickets — finishing the year with more Test wickets than any of his counterparts,” the ICC said on its website.
“Be it the pace-conducive conditions in South Africa and Australia, or tougher conditions for quicks at home, Bumrah was equally impressive through the year. However, it was on India’s tour of Australia that the pace spearhead produced his magnum opus,” it added.
The ICC rated Bumrah’s match-defining spells at Perth, to guide India to a 295-run win, among his most memorable performances along with his dominating show in T20 World Cup. “Bumrah nabbed 15 wickets from eight outings — including a couple in the final against South Africa — as India went unbeaten at the 2024 T20 World Cup,” the ICC said.