The Game ·Jan 03, 2025

Year of highs and lows: Indian Cricket Team in 2024

by Mallika Khatri

2024 was a year of highs and lows for the Indian Cricket Team. On one hand, we lifted the World Cup after 13 years, on other hand we lost bilateral series in Sri Lanka after 27 years. It was a roller coaster ride for men in blue. In this article by ZAP cricket, we share a detail of what exactly happened in Indian cricket.

Credit: Hindustan Times

Won a one-off test against South Africa: Year 2024 started on a high note for team India as they defeated South Africa in their home soil at Newlands Cricket Ground. Mohammad Siraj was awarded as ‘Player of the Matah’ as he took six wickets in the first innings and one in second. The match started the year 2024 perfectly for the Indian Cricket Team.
Won a home T20 series against Afghanistan (3-0): The second assignment for Men in Blue was a T20 series against Afghanistan Team. Matches were played at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Holkar Stadium and M.Chinnaswamy Stadium. Shivam Dube was awarded ‘Player of the Series’ and that’s when he booked his spot for the World Cup as well.
Won a home Test series against England (4-1): The third assignment was a five match test series against England in India. After losing the first match, India bounced back and won all the remaining matches quite convincingly. Yashasvi Jaiswal was the ‘Player of the Series’ as he scored truckloads of runs.
Kolkata Knight Riders won IPL 2024: IPL holds great significance in India and this year’s trophy was grabbed by Kolkata Knight Riders, after ten years. They beat SRH in the finals by eight wickets. Biggest plus point from this year’s edition was that it gave right platform to young players like Harshit Rana, Mayank Yadav, Nitish Reddy, and now they are in the Indian contingent.
Won 2024 ICC T20 World Cup: The best part about 2024 was that it was a World Cup winning year. India clinched an ICC trophy after thirteen years in the West Indies. It was a delightful moment for every fan as they were desperately waiting for another silverware, especially after the loss in finals of 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.
Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja retired from T20Is: These Indian stalwarts- Rohit, Virat and Jadeja, got a perfect ending to their T20 international career as they announced retirement from the shortest format after grabbing the 2024 T20 World Cup Trophy. It came as a shock as nobody was expecting it, but it was great to see the shiny silverware in their arms.
Suryakumar Yadav was appointed as the captain of India’s T20 side: After the retirement of Rohit Sharma, baton was passed to Suryakumar Yadav. It was expected that Hardik Pandya would be the next leader, considering his success in IPL, but selectors chose SKY over HP. After that, the newly appointed captain passed with flying colours as he won almost every match in 2024.
Gautam Gambhir was appointed as the new head coach: Rahul Dravid’s tenure ended after the World Cup and Gautam Gambhir was appointed as new head coach. His success in IPL was vastly considered and that was the prime reason why others were neglected.
Jay Shah became the Chairman of ICC: It was an honourable moment for the entire country when Jay Shah was appointed as the Chairman of ICC. He worked in BCCI as the Secretary for five years prior to this.
Won an away T20 series against Zimbabwe (4-1): Immediately after the World Cup, a young team was sent for a five match T20 series to Zimbabwe. They lost the first match, but came back stronger as they won all the matches after that. Washington Sundar was the ‘Player of the Series’.
Shikhar Dhawan retirement from all formats: Gabbar of the Indian Team- Shikhar Dhawan, announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on August 24, 2024. He played 269 international matches, across all formats, and scored 10,000+ runs. However, despite his consistent performance, he was neglected by the selectors and was conveniently replaced by younger sensation- Shubhman Gill.
Won an away T20 series against Sri Lanka (3-0): This was the first series after the newly appointed head coach took the reins. Much shuffling was witnessed like Rinku Singh was bowling a match winning over for the country. Ultimately, it was Suryakumar Yadav who was awarded the ‘Player of the Series’. It was a fruitful series for him, both as an individual and as a leader.
Lost an away ODI series against Sri Lanka (2-0): After 27 years India lost a series in Sri Lanka and was disheartening to see as a lot of players didn’t perform to their capabilities. First match was tied and the remaining two were won by the home team.
Duleep Trophy reintroduced in domestic circuit: Duleep Trophy was reintroduced in domestic circuit after a minute gap. All the junior players of Indian Team, like, Shubhman Gill, Rinku Singh etc. too participated.
Won a home test series against Bangladesh (2-0): India won a home test series against Bangladesh in October. They were literally toying the ball and playing against Bangladesh felt like a piece of cake. Ashwin was awarded with ‘Player of the Series’ as he scored a ton and took five wicket haul in a single match.
Won a home T20 series against Bangladesh (3-0): After a clean sweep in Test, Men in blue dominated in T20I as well. The three matches were played at Gwalior International Cricket Stadium, Arun Jaitley Stadium and Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Hardik Pandya was the ‘Player of the Series’ for his stellar all rounder show.
Lost a home test series against New Zealand (3-0): While Indians were expecting to beat New Zealand like they beated Bangladesh, they were brutally smashed by the visitors. The three lost matches cost the Indian team a lot as their standing in the WTC cycle is disturbed.
Won an away T20 series against South Africa (3-1): Suryakumar and Co went for a T20 series to South Africa and they played some exceptional cricket out there. Tilak Varma scored magnificent hundreds as was awarded with ‘Player of the Series’.
Lost 2 crucial matches of Border Gavaskar Trophy at Melbourne Cricket Ground and Adelaide Oval: It was imperative for the Indian Team to win all the matches in BGT to secure their place in the finals of WTC. But, after winning the first game by 295 runs, India lost two games, one at the MCG and the other at Adelaide Oval.
Ravichandran Ashwin retired from all forms of cricket in the middle of BGT: The spin king of India- Ravichandran Ashwin broke a shocking news to the entire cricket fraternity by announcing his retirement from International cricket in the middle of Border Gavaskar Trophy. He was undoubtedly the most prolific spinner of all time. His records speak volumes of his craft. He has taken most wickets for India- 383.