Not Pat Cummins, Cricket Australia picks Bumrah as captain of Test team of 2024

Cricket Australia, in their usual annual practice, picked the best players from the Test format in the calendar year to form a team of the year;

Update: 2024-12-31 14:17 GMT
Bumrah has topped the wicket-takers list in 2024 with 71 wickets from 13 Tests (26 innings), and is also the overall leader in the 2024 most wicket-takers list with 84 wickets across three formats. | File photo

Acknowledging the brilliant season of star Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah, Cricket Australia (CA) has named him captain of its Test team of the year for 2024. He is one of the two Indians in XI, the other being Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Cricket Australia, in their usual annual practice, picked the best players from the Test format in the calendar year to form a team of the year. The team comprised three players from England, two each from India, New Zealand, and Australia, and one each from Sri Lanka and South Africa.

Also read: Jasprit Bumrah sets world record at MCG; ends 2024 with 71 Test wickets

Brilliant Bumrah

Bumrah has been outstanding with the ball in all formats of the game throughout the year. He has topped the wicket-takers list in 2024 with 71 wickets from 13 Tests (26 innings), and is also the overall leader in the 2024 most wicket-takers list with 84 wickets across three formats. He has been nominated for the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year for these incredible numbers. The distant second on the list is Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga with 64 wickets.

In four Tests in the ongoing series against Australia, Bumrah has 30 wickets under his belt, which is 10 more than Aussie skipper Pat Cummins’ tally of 20 wickets, making him the top wicket-taker in the series at the moment.

In his relatively short career, Bumrah has already achieved the status of a legend due to his impactful bowling and ability to swing the match in his team’s favour.

Moreover, Bumrah has also proved his mettle as the team leader. He led India to their first ICC trophy in 11 years in the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup in June and captained the Indian side against Australia in the first Test of the ongoing 2024–25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where he was named player of the match in India’s historic 295-run victory.

Yashasvi’s magical run

The other Indian on the list, Yashasvi Jaiswal, amassed 1,478 runs in the format in 15 matches in 2024, scoring three centuries. That run tally is the most by an Indian opener in a calendar year and his 36 sixes is a new overall benchmark for a calendar year. In February, he had scored back-to-back double hundreds in the home series against England.

Also read: 200 Test wickets: Bumrah joint second fastest Indian to milestone

Among other players of the team is England's Ben Duckett as Jaiswal's opening partner, followed by Joe Root at No. 3.

Harry Brook is the other England player on the squad, as he has been slotted at No. 5, with New Zealand's Rachin Ravindra at No. 4. The batting order was completed with Sri Lanka's run machine, Kamindu Mendis, at No. 6, followed by wicketkeeper Alex Carey. The bowling line-up comprised Bumrah, Matt Henry of New Zealand and Josh Hazlewood as pacers and South Africa's Keshav Maharaj as the lone spinner.

Cricket Australia squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal (IND), Ben Duckett (ENG), Joe Root (ENG), Rachin Ravindra (NZ), Harry Brook (ENG), Kamindu Mendis (SL), Alex Carey (AUS), Matt Henry (NZ), Jasprit Bumrah (Captain) (IND), Josh Hazlewood (AUS), Keshav Maharaj (SA).

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