New Delhi [India], December 29 : The calendar year of 2025 saw several memorable performances from the cricketing world, from young, rising stars and veterans alike.
The legacies of some of the biggest names were sealed as some once-elusive tasks/titles were ticked off, while some young rising talent just started writing their story as the torch-bearers of the next generation, who could lift on their shoulders hopes of their countrymen and take forward cricket as not only as a sport, but also a moolah-making, superstar-producing and glamorous industry it has turned into over the years.
Here are the 10 best cricketers of the year, in no order:
Shubman Gill: Ever since his Under-19 World Cup days as Prithvi Shaw's deputy, Shubman was marked for greatness as his solid technique and attractive strokeplay had glimpses of icons Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar. While Gill managed to carry forward his form into ODIs, he had failed to leave a massive stamp of authority in Test cricket despite a few flashes of a calculated genius.
Gill started off this year strongly in ODIs, with fine performances in bilaterals and a decent 188-run ICC Champions Trophy-winning campaign for India, including a ton against Bangladesh.
However, it was his first full-fledged Test tour to England, without senior stalwarts Rohit Sharma, Virat and Ravichandran Ashwin as his guides, Gill, now a young Test captain, showed the world why he is rated as the 'Prince' of Indian cricket and an heir apparent to Virat. The lanky right-hander tore into records which would take up a whole chapter in a proper 'history of cricket' book within a single series, scoring 754 runs in five games at an average of 75.40, with four centuries and a best score of 269.
Some of the biggest records he broke included:
*Fourth Indian after Vijay Hazare, Sunil Gavaskar and Virat to score a century in the first innings as captain
*Highest score by an Indian captain in Tests, overtaking Virat's 254*
*First Indian to cross 250-run mark in a Test inning outside Indian subcontinent, outclassing Sachin's iconic 241* knock at Sydney (2004)
*First Asian captain with a double ton in SENA conditions
*Second-highest aggregate in a single Test match (269 and 161 at Birmingham, a total of 430 runs), after England icon Graham Gooch's 456 runs (333 and 123 runs against India at Lord's in 1990)
*Joint-most Test centuries as a captain in a series besides Gavaskar, Don Bradman
*Outclassing Virat's 692-run tour in Australia to have best-ever SENA series by an Indian batter
*Second-highest most runs by an Indian in a series (after Gavaskar's 774 against West Indies in 1981)
*Second-highest runs by a captain during a series (after Bradman's 810 runs against England in 1936/37)
*Most runs by an Indian batter against England in a series
Gill ended the year as top run-getter in men's international cricket, with 1,764 runs in 35 matches at an average of 49.00, seven centuries and three fifties in 42 innings. In Tests, he scored 983 runs in nine matches at an average of 70.21, with five centuries and a fifty. In 11 ODIs, he made 490 runs at an average of 49.00, with two centuries and fifties each. T20Is was his sole format of struggle, scoring just 291 runs in 15 innings with no fifty at an average of just over 24.
The elevation to Indian captaincy in Tests and ODIs made the year more special for him. He led India to a hard-fought 2-2 draw in England, in one of the finest Test series in a while.
Jacob Duffy: The Kiwi pacer ends the year with most international wickets, having taken 81 wickets in 36 matches at an average of 17.11, with four four-fers and three five-fors, having overtaken icon Richard Hadlee's 40-year-old record for most wickets by a Kiwi bowler in a year.
He also ended the year as the 2nd-ranked T20I bowler in ICC Rankings and was an absolute steal deal for defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for Rs two crores in the IPL auction.
Temba Bavuma: Social media could have meme'd the batter for his short stature to absolutely no end, but Bavuma defied all the memes, slurs, odds and star-power stacked against him as the Proteas captain captured two big prizes this year, the ICC World Test Championship mace, SA's first major world title at Lord's after beating a powerhouse Aussie unit and sealed the Rainbow Nation's first Test series win in India, that too a 2-0 whitewash, for the first time since 1999/2000.
While his 714 runs in 15 matches at an average of 44.62, with a century and six fifties in 17 innings might not be a massive number, but Bavuma pick and chose the moments to channelise the crisis -handling, gritty, old-school South African in him, be it his 66-run knock in WTC final despite an injured hamstring while chasing a massive 282 in a low-scoring match or his fighting 55* on a tough Kolkata pitch which was a point of difference as India failed to chase down even a meagre 124 without their injured skipper, Gill. It was his half-century which dragged Proteas to a 120-odd lead when gaining even a 100-run lead seemed challenging.
Joe Root: The veteran continued to stay a symbol of hope for his side in ODIs and Tests, even if their fortunes fluctuated in the format, staying negative for a good chunk of the year. He ended the year as the third-highest run-getter with 1,613 runs at an average of 53.76, including seven centuries and five fifties.
In Tests, he ended the year as top-ranked batter in ICC Rankings and despite having an underwhelming Ashes so far, he can take solace in the fact that he finally has a Test ton and a victory in Australia. In the Anderson Tendulkar Trophy versus India, he top-scored for England with 537 runs in five matches, including three tons and two fifties.
To everyone's surprise, Root ended up as the leading run-getter in ODIs this year, with 808 runs in 15 matches at an average of 57.71, with three centuries and four fifties. 225 of these runs came in England's winless ICC Champions Trophy campaign, including a century and fifty, where the icon waged a lone battle for an inconsistent English unit. It was great to see Root getting a healthy run in ODIs, having not featured in the format much after the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup win. He also outclassed ex-captain Eoin Morgan to become England's top run-getter of all time in ODIs (7,330 runs in 186 runs).
Shai Hope: While West Indies continued to stay patchy for the most part this year, just like it has been the case for years, Hope's consistency was the only constant. He ended the year as the second-highest international run-getter ever, with 1,760 runs in 42 ODIs at an average of 40.00, with five centuries and nine fifties to his name.
His side showed glimpses of the good-old West Indies fight, the fire, never-say-die spirit and guts of the glory days of the Caribbean, courtesy his 103 at Delhi against India, which turned a 270-run deficit into a 121-run target they could attempt to defend and a brilliant 140 at Christchurch against New Zealand. He stitched a 296-run stand with double centurion Justin Greaves as WI went from 72/4 to almost chasing down 531 runs. Both sides shook hands with the score at 457/6.
He also became the first player to hit an international century against each of the current Test-playing nations.
Abhishek Sharma: After an inconsistent 2024 with the bat at the international level following the IPL 2024 hype, it seemed that the Punjab left-hander would join the list of several IPL youngsters who could never crack the international cricket code.
But instead, he became India's biggest hope in T20Is, the sole format he plays for the country. He ended the year as the top T20I run-getter for India, scoring 859 runs in 21 matches and innings at an average of 42.95, strike rate of over 193, including a century and five fifties. The current numero uno in T20I Rankings was also the top scorer in the Asia Cup winning campaign, with 314 runs at an average of 44.85, SR of 200.00 and three fifties in seven games.
He ended the year as the fifth-highest run-getter in T20s, with 1,602 runs in 41 matches at an average of 41.07, strike rate of over 202, three centuries and nine fifties in 40 innings. With a 135 against England and a brutal 141* against Punjab Kings, he smashed the highest T20I score for India and the best score by an Indian in IPL history, respectively. With 108 sixes, he also became the first Indian to hit 100 sixes in a calendar year in T20s.
Rachin Ravindra: The flashy, hard-hitting left-hander from New Zealand ended the year as the country's top run-getter, with 1,382 runs in 32 matches and innings at an average of 49.35, with four centuries and six fifties.
The 26-year-old was also the Champions Trophy finalist with the Kiwis and emerged as the tournament's leading run-getter with 263 runs in four matches with two centuries. He surpassed legendary Kane Williamson in barely four years of international cricket for most runs by a Kiwi player in ICC ODI events, a total of five!
He also did an exceptional job in Tests, averaging 117.25 in five Tests and seven innings, with 469 runs, two centuries and a fifty to his name. With a strike rate of 150+ and two fifties in 11 innings, Rachin is also catching up in T20Is and could have a breakout year very soon in the format.
Virat Kohli: While the first image of Virat in 2025 was a helpless him nicking off an outside-off stump delivery by Scott Boland and slapping his thigh while cussing out, the veteran bat came back on track with a solid CT2025, standing out amongst top five run-getters with 218 runs in five innings, including a century against Pakistan and 84 against Australia in semis, winning the 'Player of the Match' in both.
After a shock Test retirement following a long run of poor form, Virat more than made up for it as his 657 run campaign in IPL 2025 (third most runs with eight fifties) proved to be pivotal in ending the franchise's 18-year wait for an IPL title, truly proving the saying, "Loyalty is Royalty".
His ODI return was shaky, with two successive ducks in Australia, but in the next six 50-over outings, with two of them for Delhi in Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT), he scored three centuries and three fifties each, averaging a whooping 584 runs. He also earned the 'Player of the Series' against South Africa, scoring 302 runs in three games at an average of 151.00, SR of over 117 and 12 sixes, the most by him in a series. This run included two successive tons and a fifty.
Virat ended the year as India's top run-getter in ODIs with 651 runs in 13 matches at an average of 65.10, including three tons and four fifties.
Not only did Virat win two trophies, including the one which eluded him for 18 years, but he also dominated every level of the game, be it during his humbling, back-to-roots VHT run, international cricket or franchise cricket. Every time he was written off, Virat responded back with his favourite weapon and humbled himself with some domestic grind when his ODI-exclusive status demanded some more game time.
Matt Henry: Now a pace spearhead for the Kiwis in the absence of Trent Boult and Tim Southee, Henry ended as the third-highest wicket-taker, 65 scalps at an average of 16.87 in 27 matches, including three four-fers and five-fors each. With 10 wickets at an average of 16.42, including a fifer, the CT 2025 finalist topped the tournament's bowling charts.
Kuldeep Yadav: The Indian spinner stepped up whenever given a chance. The format did not matter to him. He was India's leading wicket-taker this year with 60 scalps in 25 matches at an average of 20.48, including five four-fers and a five-for. With his seven valuable wickets in CT 2025 and a chart-topping 17 wickets at an average of 9.29 in the Asia Cup, with two four-fers, he played a big role in India's unbeaten run across both tournaments.
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