In 2024, Jasprit Bumrah was the top bowler in Test cricket, taking 71 wickets in 13 games with a strike rate of 30.16 and an average of 14.92.
In addition to Joe Root and Harry Brook of England and Kamindu Mendis of Sri Lanka, India’s unmatched fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah was nominated on Monday for the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year award. With 71 wickets from 13 matches at an average of 14.92 and a strike rate of 30.16, Bumrah has been the best bowler in Test cricket in 2024. These are the highest numbers for any bowler in the conventional format. With thirty wickets in just four Test matches played in Australia, the right-arm pacer has also emerged as the top bowler in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
“Bumrah topped the bowling rankings in 2024 after making a comeback to the Test arena after recovering from a recurrent back issue in 2023. Bumrah finished the year with more Test wickets than any of his rivals, taking 71, his best-ever annual total while playing in 13 Test matches throughout the calendar year, according to the ICC’s website.
“Bumrah was as excellent throughout the year, regardless of whether it was the pace-friendly circumstances in South Africa and Australia or the more difficult conditions for quicks at home. But the pace leader’s masterpiece was created during India’s visit of Australia,” it said.Bumrah’s game-changing moments in Perth, where he led India to a 295-run victory, were ranked by the ICC as some of his most memorable performances.
Root, an England regular, has amassed 1,556 runs at 55.57 from 17 Test matches this year, making him the most dominant batsman. With six tons and five fifties, the 34-year-old reached 1,000 runs in a calendar year for the seventh time in his career.In 17 Test matches, Joe Root recorded his second-best annual run total in Test history, trailing only his 2021 total of 1,708 runs, according to the ICC. Additionally, it was the fifth time that Root had scored more than 1,000 Test runs in a single year. “Both at home and away, Root was a reliable performer for England, amassing six Test hundreds and five half-centuries. Root and Rahul Dravid had the fifth-highest Test scores (36) during his outstanding batting streak,” the statement continued.
As one of his best performances, the ICC cited Root’s career-high 262 against Pakistan at Multan, which also happened to be his sixth double century in Test cricket. After amassing 1,100 runs from 12 Test matches at 55.00, including four hundreds and three fifties, Root’s countryman Brook is also included in the list of four shortlisted players.
After table-topper Root, India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal (1,478 runs at 54.74), and England’s Ben Duckett (1,149 runs at 37.06), Brook comes in fourth on the list of players who scored the most runs in 2024.
“A flagbearer of England’s quickfire brand of batting, Harry Brook emerged as a breakthrough performer in the longest format,” the International Cricket Council stated.”A noticeable trait in his performances was the fact that most of his runs (723) came away from home while playing the same number of games as he did in England (6),” it said.
One of Brook’s best efforts, according to the ICC, was his “blistering” 317 off 322 deliveries.
After a fantastic year in which he became the joint-third fastest to reach 1000 Test runs, matching Sir Don Bradman’s 13-inning record, Sri Lanka’s Mendis, who struck 1,049 runs from nine Tests at 74.92, is also on the list.”Mendis averaged more than any of the batters who played more than two Tests in the calendar year — a staggering 74.92 from nine matches,” the International Cricket Council stated.
“His performances with the bat helped Sri Lanka push their claim for their first-ever appearance in the ICC World Test Championship Final with wins over New Zealand, England and Bangladesh,” said the statement.
The ICC described Mendis’ most “memorable performance” as his twin hundreds against New Zealand at home, which enabled him finish as the fifth-highest run-scorer of the season.
