Year in Review 2025: Analysing Team India’s Test highs and lows — top run-scorers, leading wicket-takers, key partnerships, and major setbacks.
With four wins and five defeats in 10 Tests at a win-loss ratio of 0.80, Team India would rue their chances in 2025. There were several moments when they were ahead of the opposition in the game’s context, but failed to fully seize the moment. It also became the second successive year when they were whitewashed in a home red-ball series.
Several India players – including two former captains, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli – retired from the format this year. By the time the management settled the massive void, Cheteshwar Pujara also called it a day in international cricket. That led the BCCI to appoint Shubman Gill as their new captain for the five-day format, heading into the away England series.
Let’s decode the statistical highs and lows of India’s Test journey in 2025
Captain Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj lead India in batting and bowling
Overall, India managed 5864 Test runs in 19 innings this year at an average of 36.42 with a decent run-rate of 3.43. They could have done a little better with the ball, for their 173 wickets at an average of 33.10.
In terms of performance, their 2-2 drawn series in England remained the stand out act. They came back from a 2-1 deficit to win the fifth Test at Kennington Oval by just six runs to draw the series. It was even more notable due to the absence of their senior players in alien conditions.
Read More: Objective analysis of Shubman Gill’s Test captaincy so far
India’s record with bat and ball in year 2025
| Inns | Runs | Ave | RPO | HS | LS | |
| Batting | 19 | 5864 | 36.42 | 3.43 | 587 | 93 |
| Inns | Wkts | Ave | RPO | HS | LS | |
| Bowling | 19 | 173 | 33.10 | 3.78 | 669 | 146 |
Ahead of the England trip, Shubman Gill had an average of just 35.05 in the longest format. But in the last six months, he has increased the average to 43.07 thanks to his 983 runs in 2025. He registered the record in just 16 innings at an average of over 70, thanks to five centuries and one half-century.
Most Test runs for India in year 2025
| Players | Inns | Runs | Avg | SR | 100s/50s | HS |
| S Gill | 16 | 983 | 70.21 | 63.70 | 05/01 | 269 |
| KL Rahul | 19 | 813 | 45.16 | 48.50 | 03/03 | 137 |
| R Jadeja | 17 | 764 | 63.66 | 53.46 | 02/06 | 107* |
| Y Jaiswal | 19 | 745 | 39.21 | 66.16 | 03/03 | 175 |
| R Pant | 13 | 629 | 48.38 | 77.75 | 02/04 | 134 |
Even though Jasprit Bumrah was always anticipated to be the premier pacer for India in England, he needed support from the other end. And Mohammed Siraj raised his hand. The Hyderabad-born bowled with great energy to finish as India’s leading Test wicket-taker in 2025. He bagged 43 scalps in 19 innings at an average of 27.20. Bumrah was equally fantastic for his 31 wickets at a Test average of 22.16.
Read More: Siraj becomes leading wicket-taker in Tests in 2025; What has made him a stand out performer?
Most Test wickets for India in year 2025
| Players | Inns | Wkts | Avg | SR | 5W/10W | BBI |
| M Siraj | 19 | 43 | 27.20 | 43.40 | 02/00 | 6/70 |
| J Bumrah | 14 | 31 | 22.16 | 47.10 | 03/00 | 5/27 |
| R Jadeja | 18 | 25 | 38.20 | 71.40 | 00/00 | 4/50 |
| K Yadav | 08 | 20 | 23.15 | 40.0 | 01/00 | 5/82 |
| P Krishna | 08 | 20 | 31.30 | 39.60 | 00/00 | 4/62 |
Partnerships
Partnerships are always vital in the longest format. Even though the best stand for India in 2025 came at Leeds between Rishabh Pant & Shubman Gill for the fourth wicket (209), the most memorable one remained the match-saving stand between Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar. The two all-rounders shouldered the country to a fine drawn result in Manchester with the help of the unbeaten 203 run-stand for the fifth wicket.
Read More: How WTC 27 Table looks after Guwahati Test? Are India virtually out of running for the WTC final?
Best Test partnership for India in year 2025
All-round performances
In terms of the all-round performance for India this year, Jadeja stood out at the top. With the bat, the southpaw notched up 764 runs at an average of 63.66. Meanwhile, with the ball, the left-arm spinner bagged 25 wickets at 38.20.
Whitewash at the hands of South Africa at home remains India’s lowest point in Tests in 2025
In terms of the team’s performance, India’s 0-2 whitewash against the Proteas remains the lowest point in 2025. After an away drawn series and a 2-0 series victory at home against West Indies, there was heavy expectation from the hosts. But their batting fell like a pack of cards against Simon Harmer’s spin bowling.
Even in the second game at Guwahati, they couldn’t seize the moments to put themselves ahead in the game. They have now put themselves in a risky position for the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 final qualification.
Read More: Reasons why India batters find themselves vulnerable against spin in the current era
Batting low point
In terms of batting, Nitish Reddy struggled massively with only 89 Test runs in seven innings. He averaged only 12.71 for the best score of 43. That’s the lowest aggregated runs among India’s top seven who played at least five Tests in 2025.
Bowling low-point
In the bowling department, Reddy returned with five wickets at an average of 43.60 and a strike rate of 61.2. Meanwhile, Sundar also experienced a tough year with only 11 wickets in 14 innings at an average of more than 50 and a strike rate of 92.8.
Worst collapses
The two-time WTC runners-up faced consistent collapses (losing last 7 batters under 100 runs) in the red-ball format this year. The worst of these came against England at Leeds when they lost six wickets for 41 runs in just 11.1 overs.
India’s worst collapses in Tests in year 2025
India will face a massive challenge next year in the longest format. They are expected to play a one-off Test at home against Afghanistan in July before visiting Sri Lanka for two Tests. Later in the year, they will make a trip to New Zealand for two Tests.
That will be followed by the home Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2026-27 against Australia. After a year of missed chances, India hope to give their best against three quality oppositions.
Read More: Gautam Gambhir’s record as head coach has more reds than expected
