Indian pace sensation Jasprit Bumrah has been honoured with the prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers Award for ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year at the ICC Awards.
On Monday, Bumrah was named the ICC Test cricketer of the Year.
'He been honoured recognising his extraordinary 2024, in which he dominated opponents in the longest as well as the shortest format of the game,' the ICC said in a statement.
Bumrah beat fellow nominees Travis Head, Joe Root and Harry Brook to the title and is the fifth recipient of the award from India, after Rahul Dravid (2004), Sachin Tendulkar (2010), Ravichandran Ashwin (2016) and Virat Kohli (2017, 2018).
'Across formats, Bumrah’s 2024 exploits were a masterclass in skill, precision, and relentless consistency, as he shattered record after record and cemented his place as the world's premier fast bowler,' the ICC wrote.
The current No.1 Test bowler became the fastest Indian pacer to reach 200 Test wickets, (https://www.rediff.com/cricket/report/bumrah-fastest-indian-pacer-to-200-test-wickets-india-australia-mcg-test/20241229.htm) achieving the feat with a sub-20 bowling average -- the best in history.
He achieved the feat during the fourth day's play of the fourth Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 29, when he had Travis Head out for 1.
He also became the fourth quickest in the world to the 200-wicket milestone, having achieved it off 8484 deliveries bowled.
Among other record-breaking achievements in 2024 was his ICC Test Bowling Rankings, where he crossed the elusive 900-point mark, ending the year with a record-breaking 907 points -- the highest for any Indian bowler in history.
Player of the Tournament at the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup, he was instrumental to India's title-winning run -- his 15 wickets came at an astonishing average of 8.26 and an economy of just 4.17.
Against Pakistan in the year’s marquee ICC tournament, the speedster stepped up his game with a mouth-watering 3-14 spell that changed the course of the game towards India’s eventual six-run victory in New York.
To top it off, his impressive 2-18 from four overs, including the big wickets of Reeza Hendricks and Marco Jansen in the final against the Proteas played an invaluable role in India’s triumph in Bridgetown.
His exploits in Test cricket were nothing short of extraordinary.
Tallying 71 Test wickets in just 13 matches, the highest by any bowler in 2024, and only second to Kapil Dev for the most by an Indian pacer in a calendar year, Bumrah also finished the year as the leading wicket-taker in Test cricket, outpacing Gus Atkinson’s 52 by a wide margin.
After decent outings against Bangladesh and New Zealand, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy later in the year is where Bumrah hit peaks and levels hitherto undreamt of, sweeping the Player of the Series award for his staggering 32 wickets across five Tests.
In the 2023-2025 WTC cycle, the 31-year-old he claimed 77 wickets -- a record for pacers in a single cycle.
Bumrah kicked off his year with eight wickets against the Proteas in Cape Town, including a rollicking six-wicket haul in the second innings that set up a big win and a series draw for India.
Post that, the right-arm quick went on to grab 19 dismissals in India’s 4-1 series victory over England at home, which solidified India’s position in the WTC Final contention.
To further solidify his position at the top of the ICC Test Bowler Rankings, Bumrah put in a dreamy one-man show for the visitors in the highly-anticipated and watched Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which saw him receive plaudits from across the world for his terrific act with the ball.
With five-fors in Perth, Brisbane and Melbourne in the first four Tests of the series, the pacer left the Australian batters in big trouble during the course of his heroics with the ball, often picking wickets and dictating terms almost at will.
These outstanding performances, especially under pressure, make the Indian bowling spearhead a deserved ICC Player of The Year.
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