Top 5 players who could win ICC Men's Cricketer of the Year 2025

Shubman Gill leads the race to win the ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year 2025 award.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) honours players for their exceptional performances every year. The ICC awards are presented annually to cricketers who showcase impeccable form in different formats.

The most prestigious award is the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, which is given to the player who delivers outstanding performances in Test, ODI, and T20I matches.

While many players dominated a single format in 2025, a handful of others impressed in all three formats. Hence, they have become worthy contenders to win the ICC Cricketer of the Year 2025 award. Below are five such players.

5. Jacob Duffy (New Zealand)

New Zealand pacer Jacob Duffy was a stand-out bowler to watch out for in 2025. With 81 wickets in 36 international games, he finished as the highest wicket-taker this year, averaging 17.11 across formats.

Across four tests, he captured 25 wickets at an average of 16.28 with three fifers. The 31-year-old also did a fabulous job in white-ball formats, clinching 21 wickets in 11 ODIs and 35 scalps in 21 T20Is.

4. Pathum Nissanka (Sri Lanka)

Sri Lanka opener Pathum Nissanka grabbed the limelight with his impeccable batting form this year. With 1414 runs in 34 games, he finished as Sri Lanka’s leading run-scorer in 2025, averaging 40.40 across formats.

Smacking tons in each format, the right-handed batter hammered four centuries and six half-centuries. He rocked the field with two marvellous tons (187 and 158) in the test series against Bangladesh.

3. Shai Hope (West Indies)

West Indies wicket-keeper batter Shai Hope was appointed as the ODI and T20I captain this year. With 1760 runs in 42 games, averaging 40.0, he finished as the second-highest run-scorer in 2025.

With a half-century and a century across three games, he played a vital role in driving West Indies to an ODI series victory in Pakistan after 34 years.

The 32-year-old smacked five centuries and nine fifties across formats, including a highest score of 140 runs in a test match against New Zealand in December.

2. Joe Root (England)

England batter Joe Root ended as the third-highest run-getter this year, piling up 1613 runs in 25 games. The right-handed batsman reached a wonderful milestone in test cricket, becoming the all-time second-highest run-scorer.

He overtook batting legends Rahul Dravid, Kumar Sangakkara, and Ricky Ponting in the list and is only behind Sachin Tendulkar. Averaging over 50 in tests and ODIs, he slammed seven centuries and five half-centuries.

1. Shubman Gill (India)

2025 was a memorable year for Shubman Gill as he was appointed as the new Test and ODI captain of the Indian Cricket Team. He rose to the limelight in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England, smacking four centuries across five tests with a stunning double ton (269) in Birmingham.

With the knock, he broke the record for the highest test score by an Indian captain in the longest format. With 1764 runs across 35 matches at an average of 49.0, the 26-year-old ended as the leading run-scorer in international cricket in 2025.

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