2025 Cricket Stars: From Bavuma-Starc to Rohit-Varaat showed their strength in 2025, see how this year was for the sports world.

New Delhi: Can one be included in the best team of the year even by playing just four matches in any format? If in those four matches you have given your country its first world title. And if during the same period a historic and almost unprecedented clean sweep also took place. And all this happened under your captaincy, with your decisive contribution. Then why were questions raised on this? Temba Bavuma will captain ESPN Cricinfo’s 2025 Test Team of the Year after South Africa win the WTC title.

While his female counterpart Laura Woolfort has been elected captain of the women’s ODI team. This team also includes four players from India’s World Cup winning team.

Men’s Test team of 2025: Travis Head, KL Rahul, Temba Bavuma (captain), Shubman Gill, Joe Root, Alex Carey (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Marco Janson, Mitchell Starc, Simon Harmer, Mohammed Siraj Bavuma’s four matches included the World Test Championship final and the Test played against India in Kolkata.

His half-centuries in the second innings of both the matches were important. On these occasions, his runs under pressure proved to be decisive for the team.

Like Bavuma, Simon Harmer played only four Tests in the year, but scripted South Africa’s victories in three of those matches by taking 30 wickets. Marco Jansson’s impact was clearly visible in the series-winning Test against India in Guwahati, where he scored 93 runs and took six wickets for 48 runs. On the basis of this performance, he got the place of seam bowler all-rounder. Thus, the team includes three players from South Africa, but regardless of the overall results, India has the highest representation.

Shubman Gill was the leading run-scorer in Test cricket in 2025, while KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja also topped the statistical list. Mohammed Siraj’s pace and consistent impact has earned him a place among the specialist fast bowlers. The bowling attack was led by Siraj, the only player who took more wickets than him in 2025. Mitchell Starc was the only unanimous selection among our staff. He was also the only bowler to take more than 50 Test wickets in a year.

Travis Head and Alex Carey join Starc in the squad after impressive performances in the Ashes. Head has been given the responsibility of starting the innings. Joe Root completes the batting order. This marks his fifth consecutive appearance in our Test Team of the Year.

Women’s ODI team of 2025: Smriti Mandhana, Laura Woolfort (captain), Jemimah Rodrigues, Marizanne Kapp, Ashley Gardner, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wicketkeeper), Nadine de Klerk, Fatima Sana, Alana King, Sophie Eccleston The biggest event of this calendar year was the Women’s ODI World Cup. Seven players included in our selected XI are from final playing India and South Africa.

Smriti Mandhana and Woolfort, the two highest run-scorers in ODI cricket in 2025, will open. Both had more than 1100 runs in their names. It was unfortunate that Pratika Rawal, who scored 976 runs, did not get a place. Along with Mandhana, the batting order includes Jemimah Rodrigues of the World Cup winning team and Richa Ghosh, who handles the responsibilities of wicketkeeping. All-rounder Deepti Sharma is also a part of this team. She was the Player of the Tournament of the World Cup and was also the leading wicket-taker of the year.

Marizanne Kapp and Nadine de Klerk are the other two players in this XI from South Africa. Both of them made important contributions with both bat and ball in the World Cup and throughout the year. Ashley Gardner strengthens the middle order. He scored 530 runs in ten innings in 2025. These also include two brilliant centuries scored in the World Cup. Alana King is the second Australian player included in the XI. Sophie Eccleston will add to the spin attack along with Gardner, King and Deepti. Fatima Sana has become the first Pakistani player to make it to any of our Women’s Team of the Year this decade.

Men’s ODI team of 2025: Rohit Sharma (captain), Matthew Bretzke, Virat Kohli, Joe Root, Shai Hope (wk), Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Adil Rashid, Joffra Archer, Matt Henry, Jaden Seales Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli represent India in our 2025 Men’s ODI Team of the Year. India had won the Champions Trophy. Rohit has been chosen as the captain. He led India to the title in the tournament without losing any match.

Rohit and Matt Henry were unanimous selections among our staff. Henry was the leading wicket-taker in ODI cricket in 2025. Champions Trophy runners-up New Zealand have three players in the XI with Glenn Phillips and Mitchell Santner selected. Three players from England have also got a place. Joe Root, Adil Rashid (joint highest wicket taker among spinners) and Joffra Archer (18 wickets in nine matches) are among those three players. Only one of our staff didn’t vote for Jaden Seals. He took 27 wickets in 11 innings. Shai Hope was the best wicketkeeper batsman of the year. With this, for the first time in this decade, two players from West Indies have been included in this XI. South Africa’s Matthew Bretzke completes the team. He has been given a place in the top order among many excellent options in the middle order.

Men’s T20 team of 2025: Abhishek Sharma, Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Nicholas Pooran (captain), Dewald Brewis, Tim David, Sam Curran, Jason Holder, Noor Ahmed, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah Abhishek Sharma (1602 runs, strike rate 202) and Phil Salt (1503 runs, strike rate 154.8) were the bowlers in the news throughout the year. This is the reason why both of them will open in our men’s T20 team of 2025. After these come Jos Buttler and Nicholas Pooran, who score consecutive runs. Both of them also scored more than 1500 runs during the year. Butler will play the role of wicketkeeper. Puran will captain the team.

He led MI New York to the MLC title and made Trinbago Knight Riders the CPL champions. Devold Brewis and Tim David provide strength to the middle order. Both scored more than 1100 runs and their strike rate was above 170. As seam bowling all-rounders, Sam Curran and Jason Holder give depth to the team. Holder was the highest wicket-taker in T20 cricket in 2025. Jasprit Bumrah will lead the fast bowling attack. He took 32 wickets in the year and gave away runs at a rate of less than seven runs per over. Noor Ahmed is in the spin department. He was the highest wicket-taker spinner in 2025. Varun Chakraborty will be with him. Varun took 55 wickets in 35 innings.

Women’s T20 team of 2025: Meg Lanning (c), Beth Mooney (wk), Hayley Matthews, Ellyse Perry, Nat Seaver Brunt, Annabel Sutherland, Grace Harris, Jess Johnson, Georgia Wareham, Sophie Eccleston, Lauren Bell Our Women’s T20 Team of the Year looks like an Ashes All Stars XI. And like the Ashes, Australia’s dominance on this is clear. There are only three players from England in the team. The only presence from outside these two countries is Haley Mathews.

Mathews will bat at number three in this depth-laden team. The responsibility of opening rests with Meg Lanning and Beth Mooney. Both of them are the only players in the XI who do not bowl. Lanning will handle the captaincy, while Mooney will play the role of wicketkeeper. Alice Perry, Nate Sciver Brunt and Annabel Sutherland add to the all-round strength. This trio is the backbone of the fast bowling attack, which is led by Lauren Bell. She was the only unanimous selection in this XI. The batting depth does not end here. Grace Harris, Jess Johnson and Georgia Wareham provide further strength to the lower order. Johnson and Wareham, along with Matthews and Sophie Eccleston, form a formidable attack of four spinners. Player statistics are as of 23 December 2025.