Jasprit Bumrah and Smriti Mandhana have brought it an Indian double in Wisden Cricketers' Almanack for the year 2024, out on Tuesday.
Bumrah and Mandhana have been honoured as the Leading Cricketer in the World for men and women, respectively, for their impressive performances of the last twelve months.
Although India lost the 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy to Australia, Bumrah was universally lauded for his performance, being credited with being the reason India remained in the contest throughout the series. He claimed a staggering 32 wickets at a mere average of 13.06.
Overall, Bumrah claimed 71 Test wickets in the last year, achieving a fantastic average below 15.
Bumrah's 200 Tests wickets at the record average of under 20 made him the first bowler in history to achieve this milestone.
His white-ball heroics were followed by his match-winning role in India's championship win in the 2024 T20 World Cup. Bumrah's 2/18 in the last match turned out to be the differential as India won a thriller against South Africa, who required just 30 runs from the last 30 overs.
In total, Bumrah picked 15 wickets in the tournament with an out-of-this-world economy rate of 4.17 and average of 8.26, for which he was awarded Player of the Tournament.
For women too, Mandhana had an incredible year, amassing a total of 1,659 runs in all formats—making her a record highest run-scorer by a woman in a calendar year in international cricket. Mandhana also broke the record for most ODI centuries in a calendar year with four to her credit, surpassing the record of all other women cricket players. She also surpassed Suzie Bates' record for highest fifty-plus scores in T20Is and amassed 763 runs in women's T20Is—the highest by any player in a calendar year.
Both the performances of the players have put them firmly in the limelight, further strengthening India's dominance in world cricket.
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