Cricket: Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah among Wisden’s five ‘Cricketers of the Year’

In the 2022 edition of the Wisden Almanack, India captain Rohit Sharma and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah are among the five players named as ‘Cricketers of the Year.’ Besides the Indian duo, Devon Conway of New Zealand, Ollie Robinson and, and Dane van Niekerk of the Proteas women’s team also feature in the list.

Former England Test captain Joe Root has been crowned the Leading Cricketer in the World, while South Africa’s Lizelle Lee has been named the Leading Woman Cricketer in the World. Pakistan wicket-keeping batter Mohammad Rizwan has been named the Leading T20 Cricketer in the World.

After a record 12 months in which he amassed 1,708 Test runs in a calendar year, the third-most in history, Root was voted leading cricketer of the year.

Lee was voted the world’s leading woman Cricketer, after a dominating 2021 wherein she was averaging 90.28 with the bat in ODI cricket, including a sensational series against India in which she hit 288 runs in four innings.

Rizwan received the recognition in the shortest format of the game following a record-breaking year during which he became the first player in international cricket to reach 1,000 runs in a calendar year. He scored 1,329 runs at 72.88 in 27 T20Is, including a century and 11 fifties.

Meanwhile, the Indian duo of Rohit and Bumrah had an excellent summer. Apart from Bumrah’s heroics in India’s historic victory at Lord’s, he also had a match-winning spell at The Oval, which gave India a 2-1 lead in the series.

Rohit Sharma gave the Indian Test team assurance at the top of the order, amassing 368 runs at an average of 52.57 in four Tests. At The Oval, the India captain struck a match-defining 127, his maiden Test century away from home.

Van Niekerk was a standout performer in The Hundred, collecting the Most Valuable Player title after captaining the Oval Invincibles to victory in the event. She also ended the tournament as the top run-scorer with 259 runs at an average of 43 and also claimed eight wickets at an average of 20.

Conway created history when he became the first player to make a double century in on his Test debut in England. The 29-year-old then followed up with an 80 at Edgbaston, which helped New Zealand win its first series in England in 22 years. Robinson was England’s leading Test wicket-taker, with 28 wickets at an average of 19.60.