The 163rd edition of the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack has delivered its verdict on the standout performers of 2025, and Mitchell Starc has been named the leading men’s cricketer in the world — a recognition that reflects one of the most sustained and match-defining fast bowling campaigns the format has seen in recent years. Deepti Sharma takes the women’s honour, cementing her status as the architect of India’s historic World Cup triumph on home soil.
Starc’s case was built across two campaigns
The Australian left-armer entered 2025 at 35 and proceeded to produce the kind of numbers that would define a career, let alone a calendar year. Across 11 Tests, Starc claimed 55 wickets at an average of 17.32, including a career-best 6 for 9 against the West Indies in Jamaica — a haul that came during a rout that reduced the hosts to 27 all out. He then carried that form directly into the Ashes, finishing the series with 31 wickets at 19.93 and doing so largely without his frontline colleagues, with Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Lyon managing just three appearances between them across the campaign. Starc becomes only the fifth Australian man to receive the honour, joining Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne, Michael Clarke, and Pat Cummins.
Deepti Sharma’s World Cup defines her year
While Starc’s Ashes campaign captured global attention, Deepti Sharma’s contribution to India’s maiden 50-over World Cup title was equally commanding. The 28-year-old was named player of the tournament as India defeated South Africa by 52 runs in the final in Navi Mumbai, and her numbers across the competition underlined why. She scored 215 runs at 30.71 and took 22 wickets at 20.40 throughout the tournament, before producing a match-sealing performance in the final — 58 off 58 balls followed by bowling figures of 5 for 39. Across the full calendar year, she finished as the leading wicket-taker in women’s ODIs with 39 wickets at 27.10.
India’s men sweep the remaining honours
The Almanack’s Five Cricketers of the Year — its oldest accolade, weighted heavily toward performances in the English summer — reads as a near-complete Indian sweep. Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant, and Mohammed Siraj are all recognised following India’s 2-2 drawn Test series against England, with Haseeb Hameed the sole Englishman in the group after leading Nottinghamshire to the County Championship title with 1,258 runs at 66.00, including two double centuries.
Gill’s individual contributions go beyond the collective honour. The India captain is also the fourth winner of the Wisden Trophy — awarded for the year’s outstanding individual performance — after scoring 430 runs in the second Test at Edgbaston, including innings of 269 and 161. Across the full series, Gill finished as the leading run-scorer with 754 runs at 75.40. Jadeja contributed 516 runs at 86.00, Pant made 479 at 68.43, and Siraj led India’s bowling with 23 wickets at 32.43 to finish as the series’ highest wicket-taker.
Abhishek Sharma claims the T20 honour
Rounding out India’s dominance across this year’s Almanack, Abhishek Sharma is named the leading T20 player in the world. The opener accumulated 1,602 runs across 40 innings in the calendar year at an average of 41.07 and a strike rate of 202.01, with three centuries and nine half-centuries — crossing 1,000 T20 runs in the year while scoring at better than two runs per ball.
From Starc’s pace and durability to Deepti’s all-round mastery and India’s collective dominance across formats, the honours paint a picture of a game being shaped, increasingly, by those willing to perform when the stakes are at their highest.
