India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has won the prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers Award for Men’s Cricketer of the Year at the ICC Awards, with New Zealand all-rounder Amelia Kerr taking the women’s honour.

Bumrah beat England pair Joe Root and Harry Brook, as well as Australia’s Travis Head to the award, and is the fifth recipient in history after Rahul Dravid (2004), Sachin Tendulkar (2010), Ravichandran Ashwin (2016) and Virat Kohli (2017, 2018).

It comes as recognition for Bumrah’s extraordinary 2024, in which the 31-year-old dominated opponents in the longest as well as the shortest format of the game.

The Indian pacer tallied 71 Test wickets in just 13 matches, the highest by any bowler in 2024, comfortably beating England’s Gus Atkinson (52) as the next best.

Bumrah claimed Player of the Series honours in the recent Border-Gavaskar series against Australia for his staggering 32 wickets across five Tests, surging to the top of the Test bowling rankings and crossing the elusive 900-point mark as he ended the year with a record-breaking 907 – the highest for any Indian bowler in history.

He also became the fastest Indian pacer to reach 200 Test wickets, achieving the feat with a sub-20 bowling average (19.40) – the best in history.

Bumrah also dominated the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, spearheading India’s title-winning campaign after 17 years without having won the event. His 15 wickets came at an astonishing average of 8.26 and an economy of just 4.17, making him the Player of the Tournament.

His impressive 2-18 from four overs, including the big wickets of Reeza Hendricks and Marco Jansen in the final against South Africa, played an invaluable role in India’s triumph in Bridgetown.

Kiwis all-rounder Kerr claims Women’s Cricketer of the Year

New Zealand all-rounder Amelia Kerr has won the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for Women’s Cricketer of Year, beating South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt, Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu and Australia’s Annabel Sutherland to the prestigious award.

Kerr is the first New Zealander to claim the prize, which has been collected twice each by England’s Nat Sciver-Brunt, Australia’s Ellyse Perry and India’s Smriti Mandhana since it was established in 2017.

The 24-year-old is also the first Kiwi to win any form of overall Women’s Cricketer of the Year trophy.

Kerr was player of the match in the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup final as the White Ferns beat South Africa, scoring 43 from 38 deliveries and then taking 3-24, with her wickets including two of the Proteas’ top three in Wolvaardt and Anneke Bosch.

She claimed 15 wickets during the tournament, the most by a bowler in a single edition of the T20 World Cup, eclipsing the 13 taken by England’s Anya Shrubsole (2014) and Australia’s Megan Schutt (2020).