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STUMP VISION JANUARY 23, 2026 | The Indian Eye 37

No Panic, No Pause: Indian Cricket’s Great

Reset of 2025

Even as Virat Kohli readies himself for another ODI series against New Zealand, questions linger over

whether Indian cricket’s modern icon walked away from Test cricket before the story was truly finished.

ARCHAN MEHTA

ndian cricket in 2025 didn’t stop,
didn’t panic, and didn’t look back,
Iit simply learned how to move
on. 2025 will be remembered as the
year Indian cricket finally accepted
change. The warning signs came early
during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy
in Australia. India’s 1–3 loss wasn’t
just about scorelines; it exposed fa-
tigue, pressure, and the weight carried
by senior players. The defining mo-
ment came in Sydney when captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli celebrate the team’s win in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final match against New Zealand (ANI file photo)
Rohit Sharma dropped himself - an
honest, painful decision that summed balance, India’s white-ball teams group matches in the Women’s ODI team swept Australia 3–0 in ODIs
up the mood. By May, the inevitable operated with complete authority. World Cup, they staged a remark- and 2–0 in Tests on Australian soil.
happened. Within one week, Rohit Under Rohit Sharma’s leadership, able comeback. Jemimah Rodrigues One loss in the U-19 Asia Cup final
Sharma and Virat Kohli retired from India won the ICC Champions Tro- scored a brilliant century against Aus- didn’t change the message: Indian
Test cricket, ending one of the most phy 2025, finishing the tournament tralia in the semi-final, while Shafali cricket’s future wasn’t coming; it was
successful batting partnerships in In- unbeaten and defeating New Zea- Verma’s fearless 87 helped India win already here.
dian history. It felt emotional, but it land in the final. Rohit played a the final against South Africa. Deep- The year ended with a beautiful
also cleared space. Indian Test cricket crucial knock in the final and was ti Sharma was the backbone of the contradiction. After retiring from
didn’t collapse; it prepared to rebuild. named Player of the Match, while team, finishing with 22 wickets and Tests, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli
That rebuild began under Shub- Virat Kohli topped the tournament’s earning Player of the Series honors. returned to ODIs and reminded ev-
man Gill. Thrust into captaincy for run charts with typical consistency. It Smriti Mandhana had a historic year, eryone why the format still matters.
a tough five-Test tour of England, was vintage India, calm in pressure crossing 10,000 international runs Rohit scored an unbeaten 121 in
Gill inherited a young team without moments and ruthless when ahead. and ending 2025 as the highest ODI Sydney, while Kohli struck back-to-
the comfort of Rohit, Kohli, or even That dominance continued in the run-scorer in the world with 1,362 back centuries against South Africa.
Ravichandran Ashwin, who had re- Asia Cup later in the year, where runs at an average of 61.90. By year’s Both put in intense preparation, Ro-
tired earlier. Expectations were low, a second-string Indian side led by end, this team was no longer chasing hit reportedly lost 10 kilos, and Kohli
but the response was strong. India Suryakumar Yadav lifted the title. In- respect, they had earned it. maintained peak discipline. Togeth-
fought hard to secure a 2–2 series dia defeated Pakistan three times in As legends stepped away, In- er, they crossed 26,000 ODI runs
draw, playing brave, disciplined the tournament, despite political ten- dian cricket’s talent pipeline pro- and 80 centuries, and their return
cricket. Gill led from the front, scor- sion and off-field drama. By the end duced its most astonishing story yet. to domestic cricket sparked massive
ing 754 runs at an average of 75.40, of the Champions Trophy, India had Vaibhav Suryavanshi, just 14 years fan interest. In a T20-driven era, Ro-
including four centuries and a double won 23 of their last 24 ICC matches, old, became the youngest player in hit and Kohli didn’t chase relevance,
hundred. He looked calm, confident, proving their white-ball system was IPL history. He didn’t stop there; he they created it.
and ready. The reality check came the strongest in the world. smashed the fastest century by an In- 2025 proved one thing clearly,
later in November when South Af- In a year full of big names and dian (35 balls) and dominated across Indian cricket doesn’t fear endings,
rica whitewashed India 2–0 at home, transitions, Indian women’s cricket formats. He became the youngest because it always knows how to be-
including a crushing 408-run defeat delivered the most emotional mo- centurion in the Syed Mushtaq Ali gin again.
in Guwahati. It was a reminder that ment. The Indian women’s team won and Vijay Hazare Trophies, and the Archan Mehta is a writer dedicated to
transitions take time and patience. their first-ever ICC title, changing fastest to score a Youth ODI hun- telling compelling stories about ath-
While Test cricket searched for the story forever. After losing three dred. Around him, India’s Under-19 letes, teams, and the world of cricket

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