Jasprit Bumrah breaks the glass ceiling, becomes first Indian pacer to win prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy

In a historic moment for Indian cricket, Jasprit Bumrah has become the first Indian pacer to win the prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year. This achievement is a testament to Bumrah’s exceptional skills and his dominance across formats in 2024.

The 31-year-old pace spearhead was recognized for his outstanding performances in 2024, which saw him deliver match-winning spells in both Tests and T20Is. Bumrah’s impressive showings earned him the ICC’s Test Cricketer of the Year award on Monday, and he was also named in the Test Team of the Year.

Jasprit Bumrah’s achievement is all the more significant given that he is only the fifth Indian player to win the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, after Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Virat Kohli. Moreover, he is the first Indian pacer to receive this honor, joining an elite group of full-time fast bowlers who have won the award, including Mitchell Johnson, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Pat Cummins.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) praised Jasprit Bumrah’s remarkable performances in 2024 , stating that he “dominated opponents in the longest as well as the shortest format of the game.” The Gujarat speedster recently picked 32 wickets in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series against Australia Down Under and ended as the top wicket-taker in the series. Bumrah had led India to a 295-run win in the first Test of the series in Perth. India, however, went on to lose the series 3-1.

Here are Jasprit Bumrah’s records and achievements from 2024:

—Bumrah became the fastest Indian fast bowler to reach 200 Test wickets, achieving the feat with a sub-20 bowling average, the best in history.

—Bumrah crossed the 900-point mark in the ICC Test Bowling Rankings, finishing 2024 with a record-breaking 907 points, the highest ever for any Indian bowler in history.

—Bumrah was named Player of the Tournament in the 2024 T20 World Cup, where he played a key role in India’s title-winning campaign after 17 years.

—Bumrah took 15 wickets in the T20 World Cup at an astonishing average of 8.26 and an economy rate of just 4.17, dominating with his deadly spells.