The ICC announced the nominations for the T20I Men’s Cricketer of the Year for 2024 a shortlist of four which had some surprising inclusions as well as omissions. In a year where India had unprecedented success in T20 international matches, losing only two matches all year and winning the World Cup in memorable fashion in the USA and the West Indies, consistent rotations in the team throughout the year meant only one Indian player was nominated for the award. Arshdeep Singh in 18 matches in 2024 took 36 wickets at an average of 13.
50 and a strong economy of 7.49, establishing himself as the highest wicket-taker for India in the history of the format enroute. He is India’s sole representative, alongside Sikandar Raza of Zimbabwe, Travis Head of Australia, and somewhat surprisingly for many fans, Babar Azam of Pakistan.
While Babar had a strong season in T20Is, scoring 738 runs at a strike-rate of 133, his lasting image from the year was his struggle in the World Cup itself, where he batted at only marginally over run a ball as Pakistan got knocked out in the group stages. By contrast, while Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah played far fewer matches, their successes on the biggest stage was seen as a reason for inclusion, with player of the tournament Bumrah missing out in particular surprising fans. Who will succeed SKY as player of the year? Bumrah did only play 8 matches in the T20I format this year, all of those coming at the World Cup as he was rested from India’s bila.