The 2024 edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup concluded with the Indian cricket team winning their first ICC trophy since 2013. The tournament that spanned over a month finally ended with the final showdown between South Africa and India for the glorious title at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, and the latter scored a win by seven runs.
While the fans were entertained by some stunning batting performances throughout the T20 Championship, it would not be wrong to say that the bowlers truly ruled the show, with most of the fixtures being low-scoring thrillers. In an exciting turn of events, the pace sensation Jasprit Bumrah took home the Player of the Series award for his exemplary contribution in taking India to victory.
Meanwhile, the Indian ace seamer wasn’t the only one who impressed the who’s who of the cricket fraternity with the ball. In this article, let’s walk through the list of five players who ruled the 22-yard pitch with the ball throughout the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
#5 Rashid Khan: 14 Wickets
Afghanistan was the team to watch out for in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 as they defied all the expectations to reach the semi-final for the first time in an ICC event. And it was the skipper Rashid Khan who led from the front with his exceptional captaincy and bowling skills.
The 25-year-old ended up as the second-highest wicket-taker for Afghanistan and occupied fifth place in the overall list with 14 wickets in eight matches at an average of 12.79. Afghan’s one of the finest performances in the tournament came against New Zealand as they caused a massive upset by scoring a win by 84 runs during the league round.
It was Rashid who played an instrumental role in the victory as while defending 160 runs in the allotted 20 overs; the spinner picked up four wickets while conceding just 17 runs at an economy rate of 4.2.
#4 Anrich Nortje: 15 Wickets
Anrich Nortje was the top wicket-taker for South Africa during the T20 WC final
After years of waiting, the South African cricket team finally played their first final in an ICC event, and it was Anrich Nortje who played an instrumental role. The ace seamer looked in stellar form right from the beginning of the tournament and ended up as the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the World Cup.
In nine matches, Nortje picked up 15 wickets at an average of 13.40, including a brilliant bowling spell of four wickets and just seven runs against Sri Lanka in the league stage. The 30-year-old was at his best form in the final against the Indian team as well as he dismissed two batters in the form of Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja while recording an economy rate of just 6.5 in four overs.
#3 Jasprit Bumrah: 15 Wickets
The player who led India to their second title in the Men’s T20 World Cup has to be Jasprit Bumrah. He finished the tournament as the third-highest wicket-taker with 15 wickets to his name in eight matches at an average of 8.27 and an economy rate of 4.18.
The Mumbai Indians’ seamer might have been the second-highest wicket-taker for the Men in Blue but his contribution to the team’s victory, especially in the final against South Africa, is second to none.
India was almost out of the title race, with South Africa needing just 30 runs off the last 30 balls and Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller looking good in the middle. However, Bumrah held his composure and put a full stop to the rapid flow of wickets in his last two overs, even taking the wicket of Marco Jansen.
The International Cricket Council recognized the seamer’s contribution and he was thus awarded the Player of the Series award for constantly keeping the batters in check and maintaining an astounding economy rate throughout the tournament.
#2 Arshdeep Singh: 17 Wickets
Arshdeep Singh was one of the X-factors for the Indian team during the T20 WC
The unsung hero of the Indian cricket team in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 has to be the young Arshdeep Singh. The 25-year-old didn’t earn enough appreciation for his stint with the ball throughout the World Cup, but he did play a crucial role and ended up as the highest wicket-taker for the Men in Blue.
Arshdeep played all eight matches for India and picked 17 wickets at an average of 12.65. The final also saw the seamer contributing to the team’s seven-run victory as he picked two wickets in the form of Quinton de Kock and the opposition skipper Aiden Markram while giving away only 20 runs in four overs at an economy rate of 5.
Except for the final, Arshdeep delivered several crucial performances taking eight wickets across the Super Eight stage picking three each against Australia and Afghanistan while scalping two wickets against Bangladesh.
#1 Fazalhaq Farooqi: 17 Wickets
Afghanistan was on a roll during the just-concluded ICC Men’s T20 World Cup as not only their batters, but their bowlers also did wonders. They were the only ones to have two bowlers in the top five wicket-taking list. While Rashid finished in fifth place, it was Fazalhaq Farooqi who finished the T20 Championship as the top wicket-taker.
The 23-year-old rattled the opposition batter and picked up a total of 17 wickets in eight matches at an average of 9.41. It was the league match against Uganda that saw Farooqi churn out the best bowling performance of the T20 World Cup.
Afghans restricted Uganda to a score of just 58 runs when they had to chase a massive total of 183 and it was Farooqi who ended up winning the Player of the Match award. The youngster picked up a total of five wickets while giving just nine runs to have a splendid economy rate of 2.2.