Dubai: Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal deservedly found a place in the ICC’s Test Team of the Year 2024 that featured four Englishmen with Australian Pat Cummins as its captain.
The team also had two New Zealanders, including the redoubtable Kane Williamson. Cummins was the lone Australian to make the all-star XI.
Bumrah was nothing short of magical in 2024, dominating every team and every batter he bowled to. He became the first bowler to average under 20 with a minimum of 200 wickets in Test cricket, solidifying his place in history.
Jaiswal and England’s Ben Duckett were listed as the openers with former New Zealand captain Kane Williamson at number three. The middle-order comprised England’s Joe Root and Harry Brook, and Sri Lanka’s Kamindu Mendis.
England’s Jamie Smith occupied the wicketkeeper-batter spot.
The bowling attack comprises Jadeja as the sole spinner with pacers Bumrah, Cummins and New Zealand’s Matt Henry.
Bumrah took 71 wickets in 2024 at an astonishing average of 14.92, finishing as the highest wicket-taker in Test cricket for the year. Thirty two of these scalps came in the recent Border-Gavaskar series against Australia, which India lost 1-3.
Jadeja, meanwhile, scored 527 runs in 2024 at an average of 29.27 and picked up 48 wickets at an impressive average of 24.29.
Over the calendar year, Jaiswal scored a remarkable 1,478 runs at an average of 54.74, a tally second only to Root (1,556 runs in 2024 at an average of 55.57).
