Hat-trick of wins over Pakistan to Rohit, Virat’s Test retirement:First ICC title for women’s team, 2025 Indian cricket recap

2025 is coming to an end, and in a few days, we will head into the new year. And looking back, this has been a year of both highs and lows for Indian cricket. Indian cricket witnessed several memorable moments in 2025. From the highs of the ICC Champions Trophy title win, and a first ICC title for the Women’s cricket team, to the lows of losing to South Africa 0-2 in a home Test series. As the action for the men’s cricket team, came to an end with India defeating South Africa 3-1 in a five-match T20I series, here’s a quick recap of an eventful year for Indian cricket fans. Border-Gavaskar Trophy defeat to Australia (January 2025) The year 2025 started on a bitter note, with India losing to Australia in the Sydney Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. A six-wicket loss in Sydney saw India lose 1-3 to Australia, with the Aussies claiming the trophy. It was a heartbreaking defeat, and little did Indian fans know that it would turn out to be the last chapter in the red-ball careers of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who would go on to announce their Test retirement later in May. Beating England at home, extending white-ball dominance (January 2025-February 2025) The pain of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy loss was somewhat soothed by India’s victory over England in a T20I series and an ODI series. India defeated England 4-1 in a five-match T20I series and blanked the Englishmen 3-0 in a three-game ODI series. ICC Champions Trophy win, second ICC title in less than a year (February 2025-March 2025) India stamped its authority in international cricket, especially in limited overs, by winning the ICC Champions Trophy. This was India’s second ICC title in less than a year, and it was a special performance from the Men in Blue to claim the crown without losing a single match. Under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, India lost just 1 game in the 2023 ODI World Cup final, winning the next 23 ICC matches. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma’s Test retirements (May 2025) One of the most shocking moments of 2025 saw two of India’s modern-day greats, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, retire from Test cricket. First Rohit and then Virat, decided to draw curtains on their respective Test careers. This came right before India were to tour England for a five-match Test series. Rise of Shubman Gill (May 2025-August 2025) Shubman Gill rose to prominence in Indian cricket in a major way, in 2025. With Rohit and Virat having stepped aside from Tests, the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) decided to hand Test captaincy to Shubman Gill. Gill was given charge of a young Test team, and his first assignment was the five-match Test series in England. The young brigade pulled off a memorable comeback win to end the series 2-2. Having impressed in England with his batting and leadership skills, Gill was later appointed the ODI captain as well. Asia Cup triumph, hat-trick of wins over Pakistan to no trophy celebration (September 2025) The action in Indian cricket then shifted to T20Is with Suryakumar Yadav and Co. winning the Asia Cup title in Dubai. India defeated Pakistan not once, not twice, but three times, including the final. Calls for a boycott against Pakistan were being made in the aftermath of the military conflict between the two nations. The Indian players and staff refused to shake hands with their Pakistan counterparts, which again, became a major controversy. The Asia Cup win was followed by another controversial moment for India as they refused to accept the trophy from ACC (Asian Cricket Council) chairman and PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) chief Mohsin Naqvi. The trophy was never officially handed to the Indian team it’s whereabouts are unknown. Rohit, Virat return to action (October 2025) After having retired from Tests, Rohit and Virat, returned to international cricket in a three-match ODI series against Australia Down Under. India lost the ODI series 1-2, but the three matches saw Rohit roar back with big runs, including a century (121*) in the last ODI. Virat, on his part, registered two ducks but scored an unbeaten 74 in the series finale. Indian cricket fans got to witness an epic Rohit-Virat unbeaten partnership that was worth 168 runs. India won the match, and this was possibly the last time Rohit and Virat played international cricket in Australia. T20I series win in Australia (October 2025-November 2025) India’s dominance in T20Is in 2025 continued with a 2-1 victory over Australia Down Under. Two matches were washed out in this series, but India left Australian shores on a high. A historic first ICC crown for the women’s team (October 2025-November 2025) The Indian women’s cricket team won their first-ever ICC crown, beating South Africa at home. Jemimah Rodrigues played a knock for the ages to oust Australia in the semifinal as the Indian ladies finally proved their naysayers wrong. Pratika Rawal, Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma were all clinical throughout. Even Shafali Verma got the chance to play in the final, thanks to God’s plan. South Africa gave India a rude reality check (November 2025) The ghosts from the home Test series defeat to New Zealand last year came back to haunt India once again. This time, the opposition were World Test Champions South Africa. Across two Tests, the Temba Bavuma-led side outplayed India in all departments, further exposing cracks in India’s tactics and selection. Beating South Africa in ODIs and T20Is (November 2025-December 2025) India did manage to gain some form of redemption over South Africa after the Test series humiliation, beating the Proteas in ODIs and T20Is. India beat South Africa 2-1 in a three-match ODI series, wherein Virat Kohli starred with two back-to-back centuries. With Rohit and Virat amongst the runs, all questions around their availability for the 2027 ODI World Cup have been answered, momentarily. 9th consecutive T20I series win at home, ending the year on a high (December 2025) India then went on to defeat South Africa 3-1 in a five-match T20I series. Although India won the series, the four matches in the series (the 4th T20I in Lucknow was called off due to excessive fog) raised questions on the selection, with an out-of-form Shubman Gill being continuously preferred over a proven performer in Sanju Samson. BCCI saved a major surprise for the end as Shubman Gill was dropped from India’s T20 World Cup squad, with Rinku Singh and Ishan Kishan also getting the nod. The World Cup is less than two months away, as the Men in Blue chase a third ICC title in as many years. India’s U-19 2025 recap The India U-19 team also had a mixed year in 2025. Ayush Mhatre, Vaibhav Suryavanshi and co defeated England 3-2 in a five-match youth ODI series in England. It was followed by a drawn youth Test series against the same opposition. However, arguably, the highlight of the India U-19 team’s performance in 2025 was a dominant run in Australia. Mhatre and his team blanked Australia 3-0 in a three-match youth ODI series, and it was followed by a 2-0 whitewash over the Aussies Down Under. However, the stumbling block for India came at the U-19 Asia Cup tournament, played in ODI format. India had a splendid run, remaining unbeaten in the tournament up to the final, where the team was thoroughly outplayed by arch-rivals Pakistan, by 191 runs. A notable mention has to be made of the Asia Cup Emerging Stars campaign when the team, led by Jitesh Sharma were knocked out in the semi-final, with a Super Over loss to Bangladesh.