The Indian men’s cricket team had a year to remember – for good reasons and then some bad. There were historic highs and crushing lows. It was a year that truly set in motion the so-called ‘transitional phase’ of the team with a few retirements – partial and complete – from international cricket. There was an infusion of new blood raising hopes of a bright future. And then a steep decline for a couple of batting stalwarts signalling the beginning of their ends. The results were overwhelmingly excellent in T20Is, mixed in Tests. Oh, and then there was a smattering of something called ODIs which clearly were ranked low in the priorities but will take the front seat in the next couple of years.
Here’s a look at how the Indian men’s team fared in 2024
A Record Start
India’s year began with a bang. The team played a key role in producing the shortest completed Test (by balls bowled) in the history of Test cricket. In Cape Town, a total of 642 deliveries were bowled as India recorded a seven-wicket win to end their South Africa tour on level terms.
Return Of The Oldies
Nearly 14 months after they last played a T20I for India, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli made a surprise return to their squad for a home series against Afghanistan. Rohit made a horror of a return with back-to-back ducks before teeing off in the third T20I with a century. India were 22/4 when Rohit and Rinku Singh led a remarkable recovery to take the total to 212/4 in 20 overs. Amazingly, Afghanistan matched India forcing two Super Overs. India prevailed.
Kohli, who adopted an aggressive approach, played in two matches but managed just 29 runs. The series helped Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh punch their tickets for the T20 World Cup.
The World Cup High And Triple Retirements
The 11-year ICC trophy drought ended in the Caribbean. Jasprit Bumrah and captain Rohit played key roles in India winning their second-ever T20 World Cup title. The team remained unbeaten throughout the competition that saw them beat arch-rivals Pakistan in a thriller in New York. They vanquished old foes Australia to enter the semifinals where they outclassed England to set up a final date with South Africa. The title seemed to be slipping from India’s grip before Bumrah and Hardik Pandya broke South African hearts with game-changing spells in the death overs. Rohit, Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja walked away into the sunset as the trio announce their respective T20I retirements soon after the triumph.
‘Surya’uday
With Rohit retiring after realising his dream of winning the world cup, Suryakumar Yadav took over the charge of India’s T20I team. He oversaw three successive series wins over Sri Lanka (3-0), Bangladesh (3-0) and South Africa (3-1). In between, India toured Zimbabwe for five T20Is right after the World Cup featuring plenty of youngsters and after being jolted in the series opener, the side, led by Shubman Gill, bounced back to win 4-1.
Overall, India had a stellar year in T20Is. Of the 27 T20Is they played during the calendar year, 24 resulted in victories while two in defeats and one was abandoned due to rain.
A Rude Awakening, A Historic Low
India hosted England for a five-match Test series in January-March. Virat Kohli was a notable absentee due to personal reasons. There were murmurs of a 5-0 clean sweep. After the Hyderabad Test, the murmurs were put to rest when England stunned India by 28 runs to take a surprise lead.
India recovered, and how. They pulled themselves on level terms with a 106-run win in Vizag. The third Test in Rajkot was won by 434 runs – Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel made debuts and left their marks. Jurel showed promise with a fighting 90 off 149 on a challenging pitch. Sarafarz ended the series with an average of 50. Fast bowler Akash Deep was given a debut in Ranchi and he rocked England with three wickets in the opening spell of his Test career.
Yashasvi Jaiswal showed why he’s called a generational talent and that India’s future is in safe hands. He racked up 712 runs from 9 innings that included two double-centuries.
India next played a Test in September when Bangladesh came home. They won by 280 runs in Chennai but not before Ravichandran Ashwin and Jadeja put on a rescue act with the bat in the first innings. The next contest in Kanpur seemed headed for a draw with rain playing spoilsport. However, India were adamant about eking out a result and they declared their first innings at 285/9 in 34.4 overs in reply to Bangladesh’s 233-all out. A target of 95 was set after Bangladesh were skittled for 146. India chased it down in 17.2 overs for a 2-0 clean sweep.
India, aiming to qualify for the final of the World Test Championship for the third time in a row, next greeted New Zealand for a three-match Test series. They were favourites to not only win the series but also complete a clean sweep. 3 wins would have assured them a WTC final berth.
An unfancied New Zealand defied the odds and outclassed India with pace, spin and the bat. A stunned India were unable to process what hit them. The Kiwis ended India’s incredible run of 18 consecutive Test series wins at home. The performances of Rohit and Kohli came under immense scrutiny. Ashwin had a series to forget with the ball – 9 wickets at an average of 41.22. Little did anyone know that it was to be the offspinner’s last series at home.
A tour of Australia followed – a place where India returned with title victories from their previous two tours. Given their form, it appeared that India were in for a difficult time. The absence of captain Rohit in the series opener due to personal reasons only added to the worries. Bumrah led the side in his absence and the team recovered from a first innings batting collapse to record their biggest ever Test win on Australian soil (by runs). Bumrah did what Bumrah does. Jaiswal scored a big hundred. Kohli scored a fluent century.
All is well. Or so it seemed.
Australia then thrashed India in the day-night Test at Adelaide Oval to make it 1-1. Indian batters failed miserably. The third Test in Brisbane ended in a draw with rain playing spoilsport but barring KL Rahul, the majority of Indian batters again failed to show up.
After a short break, the series resumed in Melbourne. Australia took a series lead with an 184-run win after an epic batting collapse saw India lose their last seven wickets for just 34 runs in the final session on Day 5. That also severely dented their hopes of entering the WTC final.
India played 15 Tests in 2024 of which they won eight, lost six and drew one.
A Legend Calls Time On India Career
Ravichandran Ashwin having a heart-to-heart with Virat Kohli sitting together in the dressing room on the fifth day of the 3rd Test, watching The Gabba get drenched in the Brisbane rain will be an abiding memory from India’s Australia tour. Ashwin walked beside his captain Rohit for a brief but momentous announcement – “This will be my last day as an Indian cricketer in all formats at the international level“. With that, arguably, India’s greatest matchwinner in Test history unceremoniously ended his international career.
The Contract Snub
At the start of the year, the BCCI asked all its centrally contracted cricketers to not skip domestic cricket when not on international duty. Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan found the seriousness of the diktat the hard way after being punished for skipping Ranji Trophy matches for their respective domestic teams. Both were excluded from BCCI’s annual central contract list although no official reason was given for snub.
The Test Incentive And Fast Bowling Contracts
In its efforts to prioritise Test cricket so that players aren’t swayed by the riches of T20 cricket, BCCI announced a “Test Cricket Incentive Scheme". As per the scheme, if a player features in over 75 per cent of Tests played during a season, his fees could rise by 300 per cent.
The BCCI also introduced “fast bowling contracts" to acknowledge the skills and potential contributions of certain players (read pacers) which included Akash Deep, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Umran Malik and Yash Dayal.
A First In 27 Years
India played just one ODI series in 2024, against Sri Lanka in August. And they suffered a 0-2 defeat after the opener ended in a tie. It was the first time since 1997 that India lost a bilateral series to Sri Lanka.
Dravid Era Ends, Gambhir Era Begins
Batting legend Rahul Dravid may not have lifted a World Cup trophy as a player but he can finally call himself a world champion as he oversaw India’s triumphant campaign at the T20 World Cup in the USA and Caribbean as their head coach and stepped away from the role on a high. His tenure ended with India’s first ICC trophy since 2013. Gautam Gambhir, a two-time world cup winner, succeeded him into the role.
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And The Year of Bumrah
If the second half of 2023 was all about Bumrah proving he hasn’t lost the bite that made him a lethal fast bowler prior to his long injury layoff, 2024 was the year when he took his craft to another level. He finished the year as its leading wicket-taker (all formats combined) – 86 from 21 matches at an average of 13.76. The next best on this list? Wanindu Hasaranga who took 64 wickets in 30 matches. Bumrah’s jaw-dropping delivery that left Ollie Pope on all fours and the stumps shattered during the Vizag Test commands a place in The Louvre. He was player-of-the-series at the T20 World Cup. And in the four Tests of the Australia tour so far, he’s been a class apart – 30 wickets in four matches at an average of 12.83. Certainly, a modern-day great.
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