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After enjoying a year filled with booming performances, India's pace spearhead, Jasprit Bumrah, on Tuesday was honoured with the prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers Award for ICC Men's Cricketer of the Year 2024.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the award on X, revealing that Bumrah had triumphed over Australia's Travis Head and English batsmen Joe Root and Harry Brook. At 31 years old, Bumrah becomes the fifth Indian player to win this coveted award, joining the ranks of Rahul Dravid (2004), Sachin Tendulkar (2010), Ravichandran Ashwin (2016), and Virat Kohli (2017, 2018). Throughout 2024, Bumrah showcased exceptional expertise, precision, skill, and consistency. Even India stalwart Virat Kohli could not help but call Bumrah a "national treasure" after India's T20 World Cup victory in Barbados last year. Bumrah was the leader of India's fiery pace attack, ending the country's 17-year-long wait for a T20 World Cup trophy. He claimed 15 wickets during the tournament at a remarkable average of 8.26, with an economy rate of just 4.17. His outstanding performances earned him the Player of the Tournament award. Bumrah's brilliance was not limited to white-ball cricket. His impressive run extended to red-ball cricket as well. The ICC's number-one ranked Test bowler became the fastest Indian pacer to reach 200 Test wickets, achieving the feat with a sub-20 bowling average -- the best in history. Overall, Bumrah claimed 71 Test wickets in just 13 matches in 2024, the highest by any bowler that year. He is second only to the legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev for the most wickets by an Indian pacer in a calendar year. He was also the leading wicket-taker in 2024, surpassing England's Gus Atkinson, who took 52 wickets. One of Bumrah's standout performances in 2024 was his memorable spell against arch-rivals Pakistan. In the group stage of the T20 World Cup, Bumrah's stunning figures of 3-14 played a pivotal role in India's unprecedented victory. In the final against South Africa, he delivered an impressive 2-18 from four overs, taking crucial wickets, including those of Reeza Hendricks and Marco Jansen. (ANI)
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