Wisden honours Shubman Gill for record-breaking year

Even as Shubman Gill quietly goes about resurrecting Gujarat Titans’ hopes in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), the elegant 26-year-old batter is also reaping the rewards for a record-breaking year in Test matches.

On Monday, Wisden named Gill among five cricketers of the year – four of them Indians – and also honoured the Indian Test and One-Day International skipper with the Wisden Trophy for Test performance of the year after he scored 269 and 161 runs in the second Test against England at Edgbaston. Gill emerged as the top scorer in the series with 754 runs at a remarkable average of 75.40, with four hundreds to his name.

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The UK-based Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, which dates back to 1864, is an annual record of all major cricket worldwide and is regarded as the sport's "Bible".

The publication named three other Indian players – spin-bowling all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant and fast bowler Mohammed Siraj – who starred in a thrilling 2-2 drawn Test series in England last year among its five cricketers of the year. Jadeja scored 516 runs at an average of 86.00, and Pant made 479 runs at an average of 68.43. Siraj shone with the ball for India as he claimed 23 wickets at an average of 32.43. He was the highest wicket-taker in the series.

The only English player in the group of five was former Test opener Haseeb Hameed, who led Nottinghamshire to the County Championship in 2025.

Players can only receive the award once in their careers and it is based predominantly on performances during the previous English season.

The prolific Abhishek Sharma was named Wisden's leading T20 cricketer of the year after a remarkable season in which he scored 1602 runs in 40 runs at an average of 41.07 and strike rate of 202.01 with three centuries and nine fifties to his name.

Indian women's star Deepti Sharma was named as Wisden's leading women's cricketer of the year for her all-round performances in India's 50-over World Cup triumph, with Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc receiving the men's award. Sharma succeeds compatriot Smriti Mandhana in receiving the honour.

During the tournament, Sharma scored 215 runs at an average of 30.71 and also took 22 wickets at an average of 20.40. In the final, she played a key role with a quick 58 off 58 balls and finished the match with outstanding bowling figures of 5-39 in 9.3 overs to help the Women in Blue seal victory. She claimed 39 wickets at an average of 27.10 in 2025, the most by any player in Women's ODIs.