New Delhi: Star fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah will be conferred with the BCCI’s Polly Umrigar Award for Men’s Best International Cricketer of the year 2023-24 while elegant opener Smriti Mandhana bagged the corresponding honour for women.
Bumrah won the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year award and was also honoured with the Sir Garfield Sobers Award for the Cricketer of the Year for delivering a sensational performance in 2024. He picked up 32 wickets in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy and also played a key role for India in the 2024 T20 World Cup. He was also a standout bowler in the home Test series victories against England and Bangladesh.
Bumrah took 71 wickets at an average of 14.92 in 13 Test matches. It was the second-best season among pace bowlers after former India captain Kapil Dev’s 100 wickets in 1983. This is the third time that the star fast bowler has won the Polly Umrigar Award after 2018-19 and 2021-22.
Mandhana was named as the ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year. She scored 743 runs at an average of 57.86 and a brilliant strike rate of 95.15. She also scored four ODI centuries, a record in the women’s cricket. The 28-year-old smashed 95 boundaries and six maximums in the 2024 calendar year.
Other award winners
Ravichandran Ashwin announced his retirement from international cricket in December 2024. He was India’s second-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket with 537 dismissals and eighth-highest overall. He will be bestowed with a special award after his illustrious career.
Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan has been picked for the Best International Debut among men for his brilliant fifty against England in the Rajkot Test in February 2024 while Asha Sobhana will be awarded with the Best International Debut in the women’s category. She took four wickets against South Africa and helped India to win the match by 143 runs in June 2024.
Smriti Mandhana will also be awarded with the medal for scoring the most runs in ODIs, similarly, Deepti Sharma will be awarded with the medal for taking the most wickets in ODI format. She picked up 24 wickets in 13 ODI matches. Tanush Kotian will be awarded for the Best Performance in BCCI Domestic Tournaments.
The 26-year-old grabbed the spotlight with his sensational all-round performances in Mumbai’s 42nd Ranji Trophy win in 2023-24 season. He amassed 502 runs in 10 matches at an average of 41.83, including one century and five fifties and also picked up 29 wickets.
Star fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah received the BCCI’s Polly Umrigar Award for Best International Cricketer 2023-24 in the men’s category, while Smriti Mandhana won the same honour for women. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
