A year in which the Indian men’s cricket team won the ICC Champions Trophy and T20 Asia Cup qualifies as a successful one, by all accounts. India entered both tournaments – held in the UAE – as favourites and lived up to their billing by going unbeaten through each of them. In the bilateral arena, India beat England and South Africa at home and lost their only way series, in Australia.
Under Rohit Sharma, before he was replaced as ODI captain in October, India had an 8-0 record which included a 3-0 sweep of England at home and then winning the Champions Trophy in Dubai. India did not lose a game at the Champions Trophy, and the crowning glory meant that Rohit ended his white-ball leadership roles with two ICC trophies, following the T20 World Cup title in 2024.
In T20Is, under Suryakumar Yadav, India played like a team ranked No 1 in the format by winning 16 of 19 completed matches. This included a 4-1 series win over England, an unbeaten run to the Asia Cup title in Dubai seven months later, and then a 2-1 series victory in Australia followed by a 3-1 success at home versus South Africa.
Key to India’s success at the Champions Trophy were runs from the top four of Rohit (180), Shubman Gill (188), Virat Kohli (218) and Shreyas Iyer (243) and a steady supply of wickets from Varun Chakravarthy (nine), Mohammed Shami (nine) and Kuldeep Yadav (seven). This was a proper all-round performance from India in the UAE, with contributions shared and the belief inside the camp that this was their trophy to win visible from close quarters.
The top two run-getters of 2025 for India were 37-plus titans of the ODI game – Kohli with 651 at an average of 65 and Rohit with 650 at 50. Rohit was Player of the Series in the series loss in Australia, and Kohli won the same honours for scoring 302 runs in three ODIs versus South Africa, at a strike-rate of 117. Iyer’s strong run of form was cut off when he ruptured his spleen in Australia, thus cutting him off on 496 runs from 10 innings.
Harshit Rana, who made his debut in January, finishes as the team’s most successful bowler in 2025 with 20 wickets at 25.55 each.
India’s return to ODIs in October was not along expected lines. Under new captain Gill, India lost the first two ODIs in Australia before winning the dead rubber. Gill himself struggled in that series, and the only good news came in the dead rubber in which Rohit scored his 33rd ODI century and a composed 74 not out from Kohli.
A neck spasm sustained during a Test against South Africa ruled Gill out of the three ODIs that followed, where KL Rahul led the team to a 2-1 series win. Dew and the toss dominated talk, but India were still good enough to take the series.
Ahead of the T20 World Cup in February, India under SKY looks sorted and there are valid expectations of this team defending the title won under Rohit in 2024. While SKY’s batting dwindled worryingly across the year gone by, his success as India captain ensures he will lead the team at the T20 World Cup. The decision to drop Gill – who had been appointed vice-captain before the Asia Cup – was the right call, because this Indian team cannot go into a World Cup with two liabilities. Gill’s axing opens up a chance for Sanju Samson to forge a strong opining pair with Abhishek Sharma.
The return of Hardik Pandya, who missed over two months of cricket, makes India a stronger unit ahead of the World Cup. On his comeback, Pandya slammed 59 not out off 28 balls, in an innings in which everyone else struggled, and took a wicket first ball. He ended that series with 142 runs at a strike-rate of 186, and three wickets.
The breakout star for India was indeed Abhishek, who ended the year with 858 runs at a strike-rate of 193. The 25-year-old also hit a new ranking high after ending the Asia Cup as Player of the Tournament, but it was his stunning 135 against England in Mumbai back in February that showcased his devastating skills.
Varun Chakravarthy became the No 1 ranked spinner in T20Is during the year and lived up to his top billing with vital performances in the Asia Cup victory and in Australia. His seven wickets in the Asia Cup came at an economy of 6.50, and Chakravarthy then closed out 2024 with a Player-of-the-Series performance in the win over South Africa.
Kuldeep Yadav returned to T20Is for the first time since the 2024 World Cup final as the Asia Cup started, and he reminded his critics of what he offers by finishing as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 17 at under 10 apiece. However, he was sent home midway during the Australia T20Is to prepare for the upcoming Test series with South Africa, as the team management preferred the trio of Chakravarthy, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar. Where Kuldeep stands in T20Is is unclear.
Arshdeep Singh spent an alarming amount of time warming the bench this past year but did become the first Indian bowler to get to 100 wickets in T20Is. In his first game of the T20I series in Australia, Arshdeep grabbed three wickets to be named Player of the Match. He, Bumrah and Pandya are primed for a big role at the World Cup, which, looking at India’s strength, despite SKY’s horrible form, is their tournament to lose.
