Jasprit Bumrah named ICC men’s Cricketer of the Year
New Delhi, Jan 29: Jasprit Bumrah feels honoured after winning the prestigious ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year award but team’s success would always be his priority and he picked India’s T20 World Cup triumph as his most cherished moment of 2024.
The 31-year-old was awarded the Sir Garfield Sobers Award on Tuesday following a remarkable 2024, where he showcased “a master-class in skill, precision, and relentless consistency” across all formats.
Bumrah’s stellar performance earned him accolades, including the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year on Monday and a spot in the Test Team of the Year announced last week.
“I feel really good. As a youngster, I have seen my childhood heroes winning this great award, so yeah, very happy to be at the ‘receiving end’,” Bumrah cheekily told broadcasters.
The India pace spearhead, however, said he will always prioritize team victory.
“So winning the T20 World Cup was really special, and the memories that we made after that are going to be close to me forever,” said Bumrah, who played a pivotal role in India’s T20 World Cup campaign in the Americas, picking up 15 wickets at an astonishing average of 8.26 and an economy of just 4.17, leading India to the title.
“So I will always pick us winning the T20 World Cup first.”
Bumrah’s consistent performances across formats also earned him recognition as the fifth Indian cricketer to win the ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year Award. Previous Indian winners include Rahul Dravid (2004), Sachin Tendulkar (2010), Ravichandran Ashwin (2016), and Virat Kohli (2017, 2018).
“It feels really good to get honours from the legends of the game, but I always take things with a pinch of salt,” Bumrah said.
“I’m very happy with the honour, but I don’t let myself get too high. My feet are on the ground, and I’m really happy with the accolades that I get.”
In the Test format, Bumrah finished 2024 with 71 wickets in just 13 matches, averaging 14.92, which was the second-best among fast bowlers, trailing only former India captain Kapil Dev’s 100 wickets in 1983. The right-arm pacer was in stellar form during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under, claiming 32 wickets in five Tests.
Despite India’s failure to qualify for the final of the 2023-25 World Test Championship, Bumrah claimed 77 wickets, contributing significantly to India’s points tally.
Reflecting on his memorable wickets, Bumrah singled out Ollie Pope’s wicket during the Test series against England as particularly special.
“I’ve been very happy to play a lot of Test cricket this year, and many wickets have been special. But the one that I took against England at Vizag, the Ollie Pope, was really special because that changed the momentum and everything,” he said. (PTI)
