The publication of the world’s oldest cricket annual, Wisden Cricketers' Almanac, generally referred to as Wisden, is as regular as the commencement of every cricket season in the English summer. No doubt its importance as the time-keeper and compiler of cricketing events has diminished to some extent in this internet era, it still finds its regular place on the bookshelves of true cricket lovers for its unique features and columns. In fact, it is sometimes called the Bible of Cricket.
At present, Lawrence Booth is editor of this cricketing ‘bible’ and, as usual, he has touched upon the issues linked with present day cricket, in the 163rd edition of the annual.
From India’s perspective, the most heartwarming fact of this edition is the domination of the Indian players in Wisden’s annual awards.
Five cricketers of the year: Men in blue, toured England in 2025 and became eligible for consideration for awards. This is Almanac's oldest accolade, and one that is based predominantly on performances in the preceding English summer. Four members of Subhuman Gill’s Test team are named Viz.
Rishabh Pant: ‘Rishabh Pant’s helter-skelter excellence was one of the summer’s highlights, not least at Headingley, where he made 134 and 118. He added three half-centuries- the last after breaking his foot,’ Wisden reported.
Ravindra Jadeja: He played a crucial role in India’s fight back in England, topping their averages with 516 runs at 86. His six scores of 50 or more included a match-saving century in Manchester.
Mohammed Siraj: He took 23 wickets in the England–India Test series, securing a 2-2 draw with a last-ditch five-for at The Oval, including three of England’s final four wickets on a dramatic final morning.
Shubman Gill: ‘His run-making dominated the Anderson–Tendulkar Test series, his tally of 754 the most in a series for India against England. That included a remarkable double of 269 and 161 at Edgbaston, in between hundreds at Headingley and Old Trafford,’ Wisden reported.
Haseeb Hammed.: This title-winning Nottinghamshire captain is the only non-Indian included, for leading Nottinghamshire to their first Championship in 15 years and led the charge with 1,258 runs at 66. He carried his bat twice, and converted two of his four hundreds into doubles.
Leading men’s cricketer in the world: Mitchell Starc as he claimed 55 Test wickets at 17.32 in 11 Tests in the calendar year, and this included a career-best haul of 6 for 9 against West Indies. He then backed that up with 18 wickets in the first two Tests of the 2025-26 Ashes, en route to a series-winning haul of 31 at 19.93.
Leading women’s cricketer: India’s Deepti Sharma. She helped India to glory in the Women’s Cricket World Cup with 215 runs at 30 and 22 wickets at 20, an unprecedented double by a man or woman cricketer, and excelled in the final, with a run-a-ball 58 and a match-sealing haul of 5 for 39. Deepti, 28, was India's player of the tournament. Other Indian players who won this coveted award:
2017 Mithali Raj
2018 Smriti Mandhana
2024 Smriti Mandhana
Leading T20 cricketer: India’s Abhishek Sharma. He is named after scoring more than 1,000 runs in 2025 at faster than two a ball.
Wisden Trophy for the best performance of the year: For scoring 430 runs in two innings during India’s Test win at Edgbaston, Shubhman Gill picks up this award.
The ‘Five Wisden Cricketers of the Year’ represents a tradition that dates back to 1889, making it the oldest individual award in the history of cricket. Here is a list of Indian Test Cricketers who made it to the ‘Five Wisden Cricketers of the Year’:
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1932: Nawab of Pataudi Sr (For his performance for England)
1933: CK Nayudu
1937: Vijay Merchant
1947: Vino Mankad
1968: Nawab of Pataudi Jr
1972: Bhagwat Chandrasekhar
1980: Sunil Gavaskar
1983: Kapil Dev
1984: Mohinder Amaranth
1987: Dilip Vengsarkar
1991: Mohammad Azharuddin
1996: Anil Kumble
1997: Sachin Tendulkar
2000: Rahul Dravid
2002: VVS Laxman
2008: Zaheer Khan
2014: Shikhar Dhawan
2019: Virat Kohli
2022: Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma
2023: Harmanpreet Kaur
2026: Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant. Mohammed Siraj