The sensational pacer of world cricket at the moment Jasprit Bumrah is going through an excellent time in white-ball cricket especially, as he earned the ‘Player of Tournament’ award during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States of America (USA).
Going into the ninth edition of the competition, the biggest thing about India was if Bumrah showed his skills with the ball, then they would have a great tournament, and in the end, it was designed to be the same, as he found himself with the ball during the final of the campaign to save India once again.
Jasprit Bumrah came into the event, with an incredible time in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, where he collected 20 wickets for the Mumbai Indians, in 13 matches, at an average of 16.80, and an economy rate of 6.48 and the best figures of 5/21.
Jasprit Bumrah gets the ‘ICC Player of the Month’ award
With his stealer performance in the recently concluded World Cup in June, Jasprit Bumrah edged out his national team captain Rohit Sharma and the Afghanistan wicket-keeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz to earn the award for the ‘ICC Player of the Month’.
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The smartness and the royal stability of bowling on a good line and length on the slow and low, dry Caribbean surfaces have a great advantage for the pacer, as the Ahmedabad-born has also used his variations on occasions to make it quite tough for the batters to even think of nailing it.
His first game of the event was at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York, whose surface was already quite tough to get runs off the bat, as Jasprit Bumrah ended with 3/6 against Ireland to start with a ‘Man of the Match’ tournament.
On their second game, the score was only 119 that the blue brigade was defending, and the onus was on their star bowler to make early inroads, and he didn’t disappoint at all. At the start, he found the outside edge of the Pakistan captain Babar Azam into the hands of the lone-slip fielder, while the slow bowl foxed the wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan who had no clue of the special delivery. The pacer ended with 3/14 in his four overs, to help them register a six-run win.
The only wicketless game he had for the whole tournament was against the USA on his third outing, before grabbing six wickets in the three games during the ‘super eight’ round of the tournament. During the semi-final in Guyana, Jasprit Bumrah ended with 2/12 in his 2.4 overs, while the final against the South Africa side displayed how phenomenal he has been.
At a point, the opponents needed 30 runs to run a ball with the two set batters- Heinrich Klassen and David Miller being in the middle with quite an aggressive mood. But the veteran conceded only four singles and a couple of runs during the 12-balls at the death.
‘I am delighted to be named the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for June. It’s a special honor for me following a memorable few weeks spent in the USA and West Indies.’ Jasprit Bumrah expressed upon receiving the award. ‘We have had a lot to celebrate as a team, and I’m delighted to be able to add this personal accolade to the list. To perform as well as we did at the tournament and lift the trophy at the end is incredibly special, and I will carry those memories with me forever.’
He also paid tribute to his family and the two other nominees for their excellent performances in the same period.
‘I wish to congratulate my captain Rohit Sharma and Rahmanullah Gurbaz for their excellent performances in the same period, and I am humbled to have been chosen as the winner.’ Jasprit Bumrah added. ‘Finally, I want to thank my family, all of my teammates and coaches as well as the fans who have voted for me. Their support pushes me to compete at the best of my ability in national colors.’
Jasprit Bumrah ended with 15 wickets in the T20 World Cup 2024, at an average of just over eight and an economy of 4.17.