Jasprit Bumrah among nominees for ICC Test Cricketer of the Year honour

Jasprit Bumrah and Joe Root nominated for ICC Test Cricketer of the Year award after stellar 2024 performances.

India's peerless fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah was on Monday (December 30, 2024) nominated for the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year award along with England's prolific scorer Joe Root.

Another English batter Harry Brook and Sri Lanka's Kamindu Mendis also featured in the list.

Mr. 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 in the traditional format.

The right-arm pacer has also been the best bowler in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy with 30 wickets in a mere four Tests Down Under.

“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 Mr. Bumrah's match-defining spells at Perth, to guide India to a 295-run win, among his most memorable performances.

England mainstay Mr. Root has been the most dominant batter in the year, amassing 1,556 runs from 17 Tests at 55.57. The 34-year-old crossed the 1,000-run mark in a calendar year for the fifth time in his career while scoring six tons and five fifties. The ICC said, "Across 17 Tests, Joe Root compiled his second-best annual run-tally in Tests — second only to his 1,708 runs from 2021. It was also the fifth instance of Root scoring over 1,000 Test runs in a calendar year." "With six Test hundreds to go alongside five half-centuries, Root was a consistent performer for England — both home and away. His impressive run with the bat saw Root amass joint-fifth highest tons in Tests (36) alongside Rahul Dravid," it added.