Year ender 2024: Best Men’s Test XI ft. Bumrah, Root; no place for Ashwin, Kohli

We are just a handful of days away from stepping into a fresh year. An year that will have two mega ICC events, including the all-important World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 Final. We have had only two editions of WTC thus far, with both Oceania (NZ & AUS) winning the ultimate Test Mace. On both occasions, India were at the receiving end of hertbreaks. This time, we still don’t know which two teams will qualify.

Nine nations have literally battled their all, providing fans some enthralling moments in Test cricket this year. India vs England, Australia vs New Zealand and of course the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT)—we had jam-packed Test cricket action this year. However, the most shocking result came when New Zealand did the unthinkable. They handed India a 0-3 Test series loss at their own backyard, something (a series win) that no team managed to do since 2012. On the players side, we had numerous breakout moments, with the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Joe Root, Harry Brook, and Jasprit Bumrah all achieving fresher heights in their respective careers. On that note, let us roll back the clock and see which 11 players shone the brightest to make it to our Men’s Best Test XI of 2024.

Best Test XI 2024: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ben Duckett

We are going with two of the most destructive openers out there. Both left-handers. Both know how to get on top of the opposition and are among the top three highest run-getters in Tests this year. Yes, we are talking about Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ben Duckett. Jaiswal announced himself on the world stage after his century on debut in 2023 but the way he batted this year was something else. He tormented the English bowling lineup when they visited India, hammering James Anderson all series.

When no player touched the 500-run mark, Jaiswal hammered 712 runs in the series against England, notching up two double hundreds. Then, on his first-ever Australian tour, Jaiswal scored a scintilating ton in Perth. Talking about Ben Duckett, he set the tone pretty much every innings. Talk about his breathtaking 153 in Rajkot and then a quick-fire century in Multan. Despite scoring just two tons in 2024, Duckett racked up his 1149 runs at an insane strike rate of 87.04, the best by any batter this year. Note that only 8 out of the 32 times he batted, Duckett scored in a single digit.

• Jaiswal: 14 matches, 1,312 runs at 52
• Duckett: 16 matches, 1,065 at 35

Best Test XI 2024: Joe Root, Harry Brook, Travis Head

Now comes the middle-order: Joe Root, Harry Brook, and Travis Head. We can officially call it a Joe Root year. After all, he racked up as many runs he could and the Sachin Tendulkar tally is not so far off him now. Root comfortably ended up as the highest run-getter of 2024, scoring 1556 runs at 55.57. He had an ordinary start to the year in India. But the way he cashed in under this “Bazball” era was something remarkable. There was a brief period of 6 Tests when Root was unstoppable: 860 runs at 95.55, including 2 fifties and four tons.

Root’s partner in crime was obviously Harry Brook. He missed the entire away series against India but still scored 1,100 runs, thanks to Brook’s great away tours to Pakistan and New Zealand. Brook wasn’t in the top five Test batters but due to his breathtaking batting, he even touched the numero uno position. Apart from the daddy hundreds he scored, it was the manner in which Brook hammered those runs to take the opposition bowlers to the sword.

At number five is a familiar face for India. No, he is not an Indian but still just adores batting against India. Travis Head. In a year that was filled with subpar performances by Australian batters, Head stood out. In the BGT, he has hammered 409 runs at 68.16 and at 92.74. Earlier in the year, he even hammered a ton against the West Indies at his home ground, Adelaide.

• Root: 17 matches, 1,556 at 56 / 11 wickets
• Brook: 12 matches, 1,100 runs at 55
• Head: 8 matches, 607 runs at 47 / 3 wickets

Best Test XI 2024: Kamindu Mendis, Rizwan, Ravindra Jadeja

Now comes the lower-order. Who was the biggest breakout star of 2024? Kamindu Mendis should be the answer. The Sri Lankan first became famous because he was an ambidextrous spinner. But he said hang on; I have a whole lot of more. Till September, Mendis was at another level. He scored 943 runs at an insane average of 94.3, including 5 centuries and three fifties. Kamindu had a resurgence in Test cricket, and him at six provides that stability.

Talking about stability, we have Mohammad Rizwan as the designated wicketkeeper batter. Despite him not getting as many landmarks as he would’ve liked, Rizwan was as dogged as one would imagine. He kicked off the year in Sydney with scores of 88 and 28. Then, he came up with a magical 171* against Bangladesh, followed by another fifty in the same match. While Jamie Smith also had a great year, Rizwan adds that experience to this team. After all, he is also the white-ball skipper, who will head the ICC Champions Trophy for Pakistan.

Now, we come to the only specialist allrounder of this Best XI—Ravindra Jadeja. Jaddu’s contribution to the Indian team is extremely vast. He isn’t just a home-dominated player but also a tailor-made option for overseas conditions, with his 77 at the Gabba a timely reminder. This year, he has 508 runs to his name, including a match-changing partnership with Ravichandran Ashwin in Chennai. With the ball, he claimed 45 wickets at an immaculate average of 24.6.

Best Test XI 2024: Gus Atkinson, Jasprit Bumrah, Matt Henry

Here comes the troika of pacers who just mauled every opposition they faced. These three combined for a total of 165 wickets! First talking about debutant of the year, Gus Atkinson, who just didn’t make the England team miss James Anderson. While his void would obviously won’t be filled, Atkinson’s remarkable spells were something to behold for the Three Lions. He made his debut in July but breached the 50-wicket mark by the end of 2024. The lad took a 12-wicket haul at home, scored a century, and even took a fantastic hattrick to wrap up a terrific 2024.

Matt Henry, who was in the shadows of Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner, finally had his breakout year. Previously, Henry didn’t play more than 5 Tests and took 20+ wickets in a year. But now, he ended up with 48 scalps at 18.58. Mind you, he didn’t go wicketless in the entire year! Indian fans can’t forget his 8 wickets in Bengaluru that literally set up New Zealand’s maiden Test series win in India. Also in the recent home series against England, Henry finished as the highest wicket-taker of New Zealand with 15 scalps in 3 Tests.

Now here comes Jasprit Bumrah, probably the best player of 2024. Given how lethal he has been performing in the BGT, one would feel that Bumrah has improved his numbers while bowling in pace-friendly conditions. But wait a second. Read his home stats in 2024: 8 games, 33 wickets at 17.84 and at a bowling SR of 35.2. Bumrah has literally carried the Indian bowling, especially in this BGT, where he has taken 24 wickets at an unheard average of 12.66.

• Atkinson: 11 matches, 52 wickets at 22 / 352 runs 
• Henry: 9 matches, 48 wickets at 19.
• Bumrah: 12 matches, 62 wickets at 14

Men’s Best Test XI of 2024

S. No.	Player	Role
1	Yashasvi Jaiswal	Batter
2	Ben Duckett	Batter
3	Joe Root	Batting all-rounder
4	Harry Brook	Batter
5	Travis Head	Batter
6	Kamindu Mendis	Batting all-rounder
7	Mohammad Rizwan (wk)	Wicket-keeper
8	Ravindra Jadeja	All-rounder
9	Gus Atkinson	Bowling all-rounder
10	Jasprit Bumrah	Pacer
11	Matt Henrry	Pacer

Honorable mentions: Kagiso Rabada, Jamie Smith, Kane Williamson