Fans puzzled over absence of Bumrah in T20I Player of the Year nominees; Arshdeep lone Indian in contention

The ICC has revealed the candidates for the T20I Men’s Cricketer of the Year for 2024, with a list of four players that featured both unexpected inclusions and exclusions. Despite India's remarkable achievements in T20 international matches throughout the year, claiming victory in the World Cup held in the USA and the West Indies with only two losses, the constant shuffling of players in the squad resulted in just one Indian player being named in the nominations.

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.

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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 bilateral series throughout the year to preserve him from the massive workload. Nevertheless, his gamechanging spell in the most crucial T20I match of the year saw many argue for him to be nominated.

Another surprising omission was Sanju Samson, who missed out on the World Cup but hammered three centuries towards the end of the year, the most by any player in one calendar year, while also striking at a rate of 180.

Sikandar Raza, meanwhile, had plenty of joy on both sides of the ball, enjoying a year where he scored 573 runs and also took 24 wickets as Zimbabwe attempt to re-establish themselves at the top table of international cricket. Raza was the key player for Zimbabwe in all departments, and this nomination honours his all-round contributions for the team in 2024. This is the third year in a row that he has been nominated.

Meanwhile, Travis Head’s successes in recent years translated to T20Is as well, where he scored 539 runs at a phenomenal strike rate of 178. The Australian opener will be up against it, however, with the all-round talents of Raza, the bowling quality of Arshdeep, and the mountain of runs behind Babar.

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