CHENNAI: It is that time of the year again. The curtain slowly comes down on 2025 as everyone around the world looks back and reflects, relives and cherishes the year they have had. The highs they have been through and the lows they have bounced back from. For Indian cricket, picking the biggest moment of 2025 isn't that hard — November 2.
At the stroke of midnight, 16 women created history. They achieved something no Indian women's team has ever done before. Led by Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana, the women in blue beat South Africa to win their first ever ICC World Cup. Five decades worth of heartbreaks, sacrifices came to an end as a nation of billion people erupted in joy celebrating the historic moment.
The burden of not winning an ICC title was passed on from one generation of players to another and was bogging them down. The relief was evident when Harmanpreet took the final catch and ran towards Arundhati Reddy before being mobbed by teammates. And it showed the way they celebrated too. From Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami, Reema Malhotra to Anjum Chopra to every former woman cricketer who was at the ground, who carried the sport on their shoulder at a time when they had to fight for survival, celebrated in unison.
While the significance of the moment is monumental, the one thing that cannot be ignored was their on-field performance — the collective team effort that led to the eventual win. Mandhana and Pratika Rawal did it with the bat, before the latter got injured. Jemimah Rodrigues fought through anxiety and played the knock of her life against Australia in the semifinal. Shafali Verma came in as an injury replacement to win the final for India. There was the omnipresent Deepti Sharma and Amanjot Kaur. Then, the captain Harmanpreet and coach Amol Muzumdar. They all did their part to help achieve the crowning moment of 2025.
Former India women head coach WV Raman aptly puts it: "I think the biggest highlight of the year has been the women's triumph in the World Cup without a shadow of a doubt and for the simple reason that it's something that they work hard towards." Raman goes on to highlight how much the team had to endure to reach this stage. "And despite all the challenges that they had to encounter along the way in preparing for this, starting from a couple of years ago, a lot of challenges that we overcome," he says.
"They have done extraordinarily well to displace the reigning champions and in style that too in a tough semifinal and then win the final in style. I think that should be the highlight of Indian cricket this year." He points out that the team has managed to rise above their weaknesses and fear. He believes the team managed to bury the ghost of the past and the three defeats in the group stages this World Cup.
"In the past, they might have perhaps felt after three consecutive defeats, they might have probably been deflated spirit-wise," he says. "They might have found it difficult to shed it and look ahead and do well to proceed further. But I think that is something that they have done well. Which means that this team has come of age."
The ripple effect is there to see in the accolades and rewards the players are receiving. The BCCI has also significantly increased the domestic match fee for women post the World Cup win. "It's just that they have got to obviously look for more glory. Work towards achieving more. Because that's what they're capable of. And the landscape of women's cricket is such that India is now in a position where it can perhaps be the team to beat like Australia were in the past. I think the next goal that they must be looking at achieving is winning the T20 World Cup (in England)," says Raman.
Mixed year for men
As Harmanpreet and Co prepare for the next T20 World Cup to build on the success of 2025, the year has been one of rollercoaster for the men. They had contrasting fortunes in red and white ball cricket. A year that started with a Test series loss in Australia saw India win the Champions Trophy — second consecutive ICC white-ball title as their only loss at ICC events in the last three events came at the 2023 ODI World Cup final — and the Asia Cup in September.
While they continued to dominate white-ball cricket, it was a mixed year for India in the longest format. With R Ashwin already retired, India also saw their captain Rohit Sharma hang up his boots and was soon followed by Virat Kohli. Shubman Gill was named the new captain in Tests, and soon in ODIs, replacing Rohit after he had a stellar series in England to level 2-2. The low point, however, came on home soil as India were swept by South Africa — their second such defeat after losing 0-3 against New Zealand last year.
Gill got injured in the first Test and walked off the field to never come back again in the Tests as India lost on a rank turner before going down again in Guwahati. Questions were raised over coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar, but with a T20 World Cup coming up and the fact that India do not play a Test match until August 2026 meant there was time to reflect what went wrong. That also means no immediate change in the red ball set-up.
Raman feels that the losses at home have to be "introspected with caution". "Obviously, India are a very formidable nation when it comes to T20 cricket. And the Champions Trophy victory is something that quite obviously shown them that they are good in other format of white ball as well. But I think where they probably would be disappointed is in the way they have shaped out in Test cricket," says Raman.
He believes that a format in which India have been doing well over a long period of time, especially at home and to be beaten here is something that must be viewed very cautiously. "And also a lot of introspection must go into it," he says.
Focus on pitches, bowlers
The former India cricketer feels India did lose those series but with little red ball cricket in the next few months gives team management time to rethink their strategies. India, he believes, are not a side that deserve to lose. "It's a side that could have won those Test matches," he says. "So, while we have kept our pride of place in the white-ball format going, I think we probably performed a shade under what we could in Test cricket. Quite obviously, it (time till the next Test) gives the people managing the team enough time and enough room to plan and take the team forward. One year of no Test cricket must be utilised to good effect. It will also mean that they need to try and look at developing a bench strength in bowling."
The bowling department is one that can be look at and harnessed. Raman has cited the example of recent Vijay Hazare, where tons of runs were scored on flat pitches. "On one hand, it is really good to see batters piling up runs by the tons and records being broken in Vijay Hazare Trophy. But if you step back and look at it in an objective way, it's a clear indication that something needs to be done to develop the bowling standards in India. And also, the kind of tracks that we play on in the white ball domestic cricket as well. I think that's something that we should focus on as we get into the new year."
Rohit, Kohli know what is expected of them
While the Test defeats were the lowest point for Indian cricket on the field, the noise off it has been all about Rohit, Kohli and their future. Both play just one format and are keen to continue till the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa. However, both head coach and chief selector are non-committal over their future. Since their Test retirement, every match they played has created anticipation, including the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy.
While Rohit and Kohli have put it to rest in the Australia and South Africa ODIs, Raman says that the two senior players are responsible enough to know where they stand and what they need to do. "Why are we only focused on those two guys? They have done extraordinarily well over a long period of time. What we fail to realise or what people tend to ignore is that they both have been demanding captains during their times.
"They have guided the team extraordinarily well and they know what it is that they expected out of their team members. Now with the roles being reversed, they know to what extent they have to measure up to be a part of the team. I am sure they will do that. I am sure that you should give them at least that credit."
Raman points out that both Rohit and Kohli would know what the team demands and whether they deserve to be in the team. And that the two would not be part of the team on the basis of the runs they scored in the past. He says as much: "I am sure that both of them are not going to be taking a stance that, 'oh, we deserve to be in the team two years later because of what we did five years ago'. I am sure both Virat and Rohit are not guys who think like that. I think we should not be really harping on these guys. They know what to do. And the fact remains that we need to try and look at how the team will shape up at a time whenever they (choose to) exit the scene. You have to see how the team should be shaped up and that's what people should be focussing on."
As India cricket steps into a year filled with opportunities, their main goal would be to win the two T20 World Cups. The first one is for the men, at home with India as co-hosts with Sri Lanka in February. Despite all the buzz around Gill getting dropped, Raman feels India have a side to defend the title. "Once the team is picked, I think we need to move on and back the side that is being picked. And to be honest, the selectors have done a very good job in picking the side that they have picked. It's impossible for any selection committee to pick a side which is going to gain the approval of everybody. There will be that little bit of pressure as far as the men's T20 World Cup is concerned. But India have got enough riches in that format. The side that is being picked is also a side which is really a very, very formidable side. I will only be surprised if they don't defend the title. Because it's got all bases covered," he says.
Indian cricket will be hoping the same as well. And with only seven Tests (five men, two women) to play for in 2026, all one can hope for now is that Indian cricket could replicate the white-ball success at the global stage while doing the necessary course correction needed in the longer format. By this time next year, if they have two ICC titles to show for, India would have had a remarkable 2026.