There is rarely a quiet year in Indian cricket, but even by its own standards, 2025 stood out as extraordinarily eventful. It was a year of historic triumphs and emotional farewells, of redemption arcs and unsettling controversy, a season that underlined both the game’s growing power and its lingering vulnerabilities.
If India’s long-awaited ICC Women’s World Cup triumph was the crowning glory, the journey through the year was anything but smooth. From the dramatic Test retirements of the big two — Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma—to Royal Challengers Bengaluru finally ending their IPL title drought amid tragedy, Indian cricket lived through a year that oscillated between euphoria and unease.
A watershed moment: Women conquer the World Cup
November 2, 2025, marked a landmark chapter in Indian sport. On that day, Harmanpreet Kaur and her team ended a 50-year wait to lift the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup, completing a journey that began in the era of pioneers like Diana Eduljee and Shanta Rangaswamy.
For a generation that had endured heartbreak in the 2005 and 2017 finals, the triumph brought redemption. Harmanpreet, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana, and Player of the Tournament Deepti Sharma finally erased the pain of near-misses. Jemimah Rodrigues emerged as a defining figure, her match-winning 127 against Australia in the semi-final setting the tone for India’s emphatic victory over South Africa in the final.
The title was not just a trophy; it was a statement about how far Indian women’s cricket has come.
Champions Trophy success amid debate
Earlier in the year, the men’s team added another ICC title to their cabinet, winning the Champions Trophy after an eight-year hiatus. Rohit Sharma’s side remained unbeaten throughout the tournament, clinching the final against New Zealand by four wickets in Dubai.
India’s success was driven by a potent spin attack, though the campaign was not free from scrutiny. Questions were raised about competitive fairness, with India playing all their matches at one venue while other teams travelled between Pakistan and the UAE.
The tournament itself followed weeks of tension between the BCCI and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), eventually resolved through a hybrid model, an arrangement that ensures India and Pakistan will avoid touring each other’s countries in ICC events for the next three years.
A year of transition post Ro-Ko era in Tests
The year also signalled a significant shift in Indian cricket’s power structure. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s decision to retire from Test cricket midway through the IPL stunned fans and triggered a leadership transition, with Shubman Gill appointed captain for the longest format.
Speculation swirled around the future of the two stalwarts, particularly during a prolonged international break. However, when India returned to ODI action in Australia, widely seen as a potential farewell tour, both Rohit and Virat responded emphatically.
Rohit, relieved from captaincy duties in the 50-overs format, emerged as Player of the Series, while Kohli rediscovered his best form in the subsequent home series against South Africa.
The veteran duo’s performances underlined their worth in ODIs even as every series in the coming year will be an audition for the 2027 ODI World Cup.
Heartbreaks in home Tests
India returned home on a high after salvaging a 2–2 draw in England and followed it up with back-to-back Test wins against the West Indies. That momentum, however, quickly unravelled against the reigning World Test champions.
The scars of last year’s 3-0 whitewash by New Zealand resurfaced as India suffered another setback, going down 2-0 to South Africa. The series defeat was particularly significant for the Proteas, marking their first Test series win on Indian soil in 25 years. Head coach Gautam Gambhir’s continued preference for multi-dimensional players over specialist options in the longest format has been widely cited as a key factor behind the disappointing outcome.
IPL joy overshadowed by tragedy
After 18 long seasons, Royal Challengers Bengaluru finally managed to break the jinx by lifting their maiden IPL trophy. For Kohli, it was a deeply emotional achievement, a title that had eluded him throughout his career.
The celebrations, however, were short-lived. A day after the final, a stampede outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium during the victory parade claimed the lives of 11 supporters. The incident cast a long shadow over the triumph and exposed serious shortcomings in crowd management and spectator safety.
The repercussions were immediate, with Bengaluru losing its allocation of matches during the Women’s World Cup, and subsequently, domestic matches were also shifted out of the stadium.
New stars announce themselves
Among the year’s standout individual stories was the rise of 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi. Despite lingering debate over his age, the teenager produced performances that defied convention. He burst onto the IPL stage with a 35-ball century against the Gujarat Titans and then went even bigger, smashing a 32-ball hundred and finishing with a remarkable 144 off 42 balls, the sixth-highest T20 score ever recorded.
Suryavanshi later demonstrated his maturity at the U-19 Asia Cup, crafting a patient yet dominant 171 off 95 balls against the UAE, proving he was more than just a power hitter.
Meanwhile, Abhishek Sharma enjoyed a breakthrough year of his own. He narrowly missed Kohli’s record for most T20I runs in a calendar year and climbed to the top of the ICC T20I batting rankings, establishing himself as a key figure in India’s shortest-format plans.
As the calendar turns, the year will be remembered not only for the trophies lifted but for the moments that reshaped Indian cricket, with the focus now shifting to India’s preparations for title defence in the upcoming T20 World Cup, starting February 7 at home.