A lot happened in international cricket in 2025.
South Africa shed their ‘bridesmaids’ tag by lifting the World Test Championship mace, India dominated in white-ball cricket — winning the men’s Champions Trophy and the women’s World Cup — legends like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma bid adieu to Tests and England’s Bazball tactics unravelled in Australia to close out the year.
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But even with such grand offerings, cricket in 2025 could not steer clear of geopolitical issues and will go down as the year when the game was overshadowed by politics.
A rivalry that turned too bitter
The already-soured relations between bitter rivals India and Pakistan reached a new low when the nuclear-armed neighbour engaged in a military conflict in May that nearly snowballed into a full-fledged war.
The bad blood was evident in the subsequent 20-overs Asia Cup tournament in the United Arab Emirates.
India beat Pakistan three times during the politically charged tournament and refused to shake hands with them either at the toss or after the match. Players from both sides made provocative gestures, which invited sanctions from the governing International Cricket Council (ICC).
The drama didn’t end even after the final as winners India refused to accept the winner’s trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Mohsin Naqvi, who also happens to be Pakistan’s interior minister.
Earlier in March, India lifted the Champions Trophy — the first ICC tournament held in Pakistan in nearly three decades – where they played all their matches in Dubai, which many saw as an undue advantage.
Similarly, Pakistan played all their matches in Sri Lanka when India hosted the 50-overs Women’s World Cup, where Harmanpreet Kaur and her teammates ended India’s agonising wait for a maiden title.
Proteas break the curse
South Africa ended decades of hurt and won the World Test Championship (WTC) beating Australia in the final at Lord’s.
For a team often ridiculed for their tendency to bottle it during the knockout stages of ICC tournaments, Temba Bavuma and his men carried no past baggage. Opener Aiden Markram’s fourth-innings hundred secured their five-wicket victory, ending a long-standing jinx.
“We came in with a lot of belief and a lot of doubters,” Bavuma said after claiming the WTC mace.
South Africa then went on to register their first Test series victory in India in 25 years with a 2-0 sweep, proving their WTC success was far from a fluke.
Bazball’s obituary?
Ben Stokes’ England — touted as the strongest English side to tour Down Under in a long time – were up against an Australian side which was conversely thought to be the weakest in a decade.
To make matters worse for the host side, it lost its skipper Pat Cummins and pacer Josh Hazelwood due to injury before the Ashes had even begun.
However, once the talks ended and the action began, it was business as usual as the Aussies retained the urn inside 11 days by winning the first three Tests and critics are now hounding the English side and their Bazball tactics.
Travis Head hit a decisive 123 off 83 balls in the second innings as Australia came back from a 40-run deficit to win the opening Test by eight wickets in Perth.
In Brisbane, the Aussies extended their unbeaten record against the English in Pink-ball Tests, with Mitchell Starc following up his 10-wicket haul from the first Test with match figures of 8-139.
All hopes of an England revival then withered away in Adelaide, as Cummins, returning in the XI, led the side to an unassailable 3-0 lead. The pitchforks are already out in the English media for captain Stokes, coach Brendan McCullum, the board’s managing director Rob Key while the Aussies are celebrating winning their fifth straight Ashes series.