It was a mixed bag for Indian cricket when the ICC announced its Test and ODI Teams of the Year Friday. While Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, and Yashasvi Jaiswal secured spots in the Test XI, no Indian player made the cut in the ODI team.
Jasprit Bumrah was the standout bowler of 2024. With 71 wickets at an average of 14.92, Bumrah not only became the year’s leading wicket-taker in Tests but also the first bowler in history, who has taken 200 career wickets with an average of under 20.
His performance included taking 19 wickets in four Tests against England, followed by 32 wickets in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia that included a nine-wicket haul.
Yashasvi Jaiswal’s rise as a Test opener was another highlight. The 23-year-old amassed 1,478 runs in 2024 at an average of 54.74, second only to England’s Joe Root, who scored 1,556 runs.
After a shaky tour of South Africa in December 2023, Jaiswal found his rhythm at home in the Test series against England in January 2024. He smashed 712 runs, including two double centuries.
He continued his form with half-centuries against Bangladesh and a memorable 161 against Australia in Perth during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, finishing as India’s top scorer in the series.
Ravindra Jadeja, ever the dependable all-rounder, chipped in with 527 runs and 48 wickets at an average of 24.29 in 2024, proving his worth across conditions.
The Test XI, captained by Australia’s Pat Cummins, featured four English players, two New Zealanders—including Kane Williamson—and Sri Lanka’s Kamindu Mendis, who impressed with 1,049 runs at an average of 74.92.
ICC Test Team of the Year 2024: Pat Cummins (c) (Australia), Yashasvi Jaiswal (India), Ben Duckett (England), Kane Williamson (New Zealand), Joe Root (England), Harry Brook (England), Kamindu Mendis (Sri Lanka), Jamie Smith (wk) (England), Ravindra Jadeja (India), Matt Henry (New Zealand), Jasprit Bumrah (India).
The ODI blank: India’s quiet year in 50-over cricket
India played just three ODIs all year—a series against Sri Lanka that they failed to win, losing two matches while the third ended in a tie. This lack of game time left no room for Indian players in the ICC’s ODI Team of the Year.
The team was dominated by players from Sri Lanka (4), Pakistan (3), and Afghanistan (3), with one player from the West Indies rounding off the XI.
This marked the first time since 2021 that no Indian player featured in the ICC ODI Team of the Year, a stark departure from India’s strong presence in the list.
In 2023, six Indian cricketers stormed the ODI XI. Batters Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli, and bowlers Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, and Kuldeep Yadav.
Even in 2022, though the list featured fewer Indians, Mohammed Siraj and Shreyas Iyer managed to break into the elite XI. In 2019, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami, and Kuldeep Yadav were featured in the team.
In 2021, India had played only six ODIs and won four of them. None features in the ICC ODI XI.
ICC Men's ODI Team of the Year for 2024: Charith Asalanka (C) (Sri Lanka), Saim Ayub (Pakistan), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afghanistan), Pathum Nissanka (Sri Lanka), Kusal Mendis (WK) (Sri Lanka), Sherfane Rutherford (West Indies), Azmatullah Omarzai (Afghanistan), Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka), Shaheen Shah Afridi (Pakistan), Haris Rauf (Pakistan), AM Ghazanfar (Afghanistan).