Rohit, Bumrah among Wisden’s Cricketers of the Year

India’s first Test captain, he led at the one-off

Test at

Lord’s in

1932

His 114 in the drawn Test at Old Trafford in July 1936 stood

out.

His 5/101 in the first innings in the drawn Old

Trafford

Test got him noticed.

India lost the 1967 series but skipper MAK

Pataudi hit a solid 148 in the first

Test.

KOLKATA: India captain Rohit Sharma and pacer Jasprit Bumrah have been named among the “Five Cricketers of the Year” in the 2022 edition of the Wisden Almanack. England fast bowler Ollie Robinson, South African women’s player Dane van Niekerk and New Zealand opener Devon Conway are the others to have made the cut.

Former England captain Joe Root has been named Leading Cricketer in the World, South Africa’s Lizelle Lee the Leading Woman Cricketer in the World

His 6/38 in the third Test at the Kennington Oval helped India win a Test and a series in England for the first time.

With a valiant 221

Gavaskar had almost pulled off a successful chase of 438 at the

Oval. and Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan the Leading T20 Cricketer.

Wisden, the world’s oldest and foremost chronicler of cricket, chooses five cricketers every year as part of a revered practice dating back to 1889. Emphasis is on the previous English summer and no one can be chosen more than once.

Virat Kohli was the last Indian to feature on the list, in 2019. Sharma and Bumrah topped India’s averages as the tourists wrested a 2-1 lead in a five-match series last summer that is set to conclude in July this year after a Covid outbreak

In the 1982 series tipped as the battle between Kapil Dev and Ian Botham, the former was India’s highest run-getter (292) and second-highest wicket-taker (10).

Scoring 237 and bagging 8 wickets, he helped India with the World Cup. In the final against West Indies, he scored a fighting 26 and took 3/12.

With 426 runs including a fine 179 in the drawn second Test in Manchester, he was India’s highest scorer in the 1990 series. led to the cancellation of the last Test in Manchester.

Sharma scored 368 runs in four Tests at an average of 52.57, capping an exceptional tour with a second-innings 127 at The Oval, his maiden Test hundred away from home.

One of India’s finest whiteball players ever, Sharma wasn’t a Test regular till India’s home season in 2019 when he scored 529 runs in three Tests against South Africa to be Man of the Series. Given permanent opener status ahead of the England tour, Sharma lived up to steep expectations, curbing his natural flair for pulls and

His 360 runs with highest of 126* won him the player of the series which India won 2-0.

He did not perform too well in the Test series but bagged 105 wickets in

1995 for

Northamptonshire.

He was India’s highest run-getter with 428 runs including two centuries and a highest of 177. drives to respect the conditions and give himself enough time before going on the offensive.

His hundred at The Oval came at a crucial juncture of the Test when India were trailing England’s first innings total by 99 runs. Sharma raised a first-wicket stand of 83 with KL Rahul, India’s only other centurion on that tour, but it was with Cheteshwar Pujara (61) that he really took on the England attack, scoring a gritty hundred that helped India set a 367-run target in the end. India took a decisive 2-1 lead after dismissing England for 210.

“Rohit Sharma was at the

His 461 runs, in India’s failed World Cup campaign, were the highest of the tournament and not only included two successive centuries but also 50s under pressure vs England and Pakistan.

His stellar 281 against Australia in one of the greatest comeback wins in Test history more than qualified him for the honour.

Zaheer was the player of the series in India’s triumphant tour of England where he bagged 18 wickets at an average of 20.33. heart of his side’s 2-1 lead over England, and played starring roles with the bat at Lord’s, where he made an elegant 83 in treacherous conditions, and at The Oval, where his superb 127 helped India overcome a firstinnings deficit of 99,” said Wisden editor Lawrence Booth.

A special spell

Bumrah played an equally significant role in that victory, removing Ollie Pope and Jonny Bairstow in consecutive overs to reduce England to 146/5. In India’s first win of the series during the second Test at Lord’s, Bumrah went wicketless

Dhawan was the highest run-scorer during India's triumph in ICC Champions Trophy scoring 363 runs at an average of 90.75. in the first innings but came good with the bat in the second, scoring a 64-ball 34 in an 89-run stand with Mohammed Shami for the ninth wicket, allowing India to declare at 298/8 and set England a target of 272.

With the ball, Bumrah dismissed opener Rory Burns and England captain Joe Root— eventually the highest scorer from both sides that series—to pave the way for a famous win. “Had rain not washed out the last day of the first Test at Trent Bridge, his nine wickets there might have led to an Indian win, too. In all, he managed 18

Skipper Kohli stood out with 593 runs including two centuries even though his side lost the series 4-1. wickets at 20 apiece in the four Tests, and scored some unexpected—and crucial—tail-end runs,” said Booth.

Prolific Root

Root, who resigned the England captaincy last week after leading in 64 Tests, was named Leading Cricketer of the Year after a stupendous run with the bat that saw him score 1,708 runs at 61 in 15 Tests in 2021.

As captain though, Root has endured possibly England’s toughest phase in the last 10 years as they slumped to series losses in India, England and recently, in the Caribbean. England have now won just one of their last 17 Tests. “His 1,708 runs have been beaten only by Mohammad Yousuf in 2006 and Viv Richards in 1976, and included six hundreds,” said Booth. “And he scored his runs in his fifth year as England captain, at which point many of his predecessors had already called it a day.”

Lee was named Leading Woman Cricketer after scoring 632 runs in 11 ODIs, at a higher average (90) than any other player. Rizwan scored a worldrecord 2,036 T20 runs at an average of 56.