The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the Player of the Match award for December 2024 as the Indian captain and the premier fast bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, has been rewarded with the prize where he has overtaken the Australian captain and pacer, Pat Cummins, and the South African pacer Dane Patterson.
Jasprit Bumrah has grabbed the top spot in the ICC Test bowler’s ranking with 908 ratings, Cummins is in the second spot with 841 ratings, while the Protea pacer Kagiso Rabada is in the third place with 837 ratings. The right-arm pacer was the leading wicket-taker of the five-match Test series in the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 in Australia.
The right-arm pacer picked up 32 wickets in nine innings at an average of 13.06 and a strike rate of 28.37, shouldering on three five-wicket hauls and a couple of four-wicket hauls with the best bowling figure of 6/76 in an inning.
Jasprit Bumrah earns ICC Player of the Month award for December 2024
Over the last three red-ball fixtures in the month, the Ahmedabad-born has collected 22 wickets at an impressive average of 14.22, single-handedly carrying the burden of India’s bowling attack. Their brilliance was evident from the very start, with the standout show during the second day-night pink-ball affair at the Adelaide Oval.
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Bumrah, who won the ICC award, was the leader of the series opener at the Optus Stadium in Perth in the absence of their regular captain, Rohit Sharma, because of paternity leave for the birth of his second child. The pacer earned eight wickets in the encounter to earn the Player of the Match award as they went 1-0 up in the series with a 295-run victory.
The 31-year-old followed the performance with another sensational display in Brisbane, where he claimed six wickets in the first innings to destroy the home side’s batting order. He added three more scalps in the second innings to end with a nine-wicket match haul. His efforts were the reason behind India ending the rain-affected game in a draw to be alive in the series.
The Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) was a bit different for the ICC winner, who was taken onslaught by the 19-year-old debutant opening batter of Australia, Sam Konstas. But the veteran showed his skills and experience to provide a bright spot in the lackluster bowling effort by the Indian side. In the second innings, he picked up five wickets to bowl out Australia for 234 but ended on the wrong side, as the tourists were 2-1 down with an 184-run defeat.
The 2025 year didn’t start on a positive note for him at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) during the fifth New Year’s Test as he couldn’t bowl in the second innings, having left the field in the first innings and consulting the medical department.
In the post-match presentation, the Gujarat pacer reckoned how it becomes vital to take care of the body. His exceptional performances, despite India’s defeat in the series, earned the series award as he cemented his reputation as one of the finest bowlers in world cricket.
Bumrah also became the fourth fastest player to reach the landmark of 200 Test wickets with the least balls and the first one to achieve the feat at an average of below 20. All of these performances were enough for Bumrah to win the ICC Player of the Month award in December 2024.