Top 5 cricketers who redefined consistency in 2025
In any sport, talent and skills don’t really matter if athletes perform erratically. Consistency in performances is the most important attribute that separates the good players from the greats.
Given the three-format, round-the-year nature of the sport, cricketers have ample opportunities to showcase consistent performances across batting, bowling, and fielding. Here is our pick of five such cricketers who redefined consistency in 2025.
Note: All stats mentioned below have been taken from ESPNcricinfo.
Mohammed Siraj
In the absence of Team India’s pace-bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah in crucial matches, Mohammed Siraj took over the mantle of the prime bowler for the team in Tests and ODIs.
Siraj has been ever-present for India, especially in the gruelling five-day format, bowling his heart out. He also led India to a win in the fifth Test of their England tour, helping the Men in Blue draw a tough away series. He was the leading wicket-taker in that series (23) and played all five games.
The 31-year-old also featured in the home Test series against the West Indies, taking ten wickets over two Tests and becoming the highest wicket-taker in the format for the year. Playing for the Gujarat Giants in the Indian Premier League earlier this year, he again performed consistently, providing early breakthroughs and helping GT reach the play-offs.
So far this year, Siraj has taken 37 wickets in 15 Test innings with an average of 26.91 and best figures of 6/70. Such has been his impact for the Indian team that they have not missed Bumrah as much as they were expecting to, as Siraj has done all the heavy lifting as the lead seamer. He has the ability to swing the ball both ways along with express pace and possesses incredible fitness levels that help him bowl longer spells in Test matches, which is a massive advantage for the team.
Smriti Mandhana
Amid the massive media glare and focus on the Men in Blue, India’s women’s camp has seen Smriti Mandhana have a sensational year as well and break several long-standing records.
Mandhana has not only become the only batter to score 1,000+ WODI runs in a calendar year but also the fastest player to reach 5,000 WODI runs. She has also equalled the record for most WODI centuries in a year (tied on five centuries with South Africa’s Tazmin Brits) and is currently the top scorer at the ongoing ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup with two centuries and two fifties.
The 29-year-old has impressive stats for the year, having scored 1,259 runs so far in 20 innings with an average of 62.95 and a strike rate of 111.41, having registered five centuries and five half-centuries with a top score of 135. In the T20Is, even though she has only played five innings this year, she has scored 221 runs at an average of 44.20 and with a superb strike rate of 137.26.
Matt Henry
New Zealand’s prime pace bowler Matt Henry has also been one of the standout performers. The Kiwi quick has been a major threat to all batters and was instrumental in New Zealand reaching the ICC Champions Trophy final earlier this year.
In ODIs, Henry has taken 24 wickets in nine matches with an average of 15.50 and a strike rate of 19.04, with best figures of 5/42. He was the highest wicket-taker in the ICC Champions Trophy (10). In the T20Is, he has had 45 scalps in 29 matches with an average of 15.97, a strike rate of 13.06, and best figures of 5/18. In red-ball cricket, even though New Zealand haven’t played many Tests, the 33-year-old has taken 16 wickets in four innings with a fantastic average of 9.12, a strike rate of 21.93, and best figures of 6/39.
Regardless of the format, Henry is New Zealand’s go-to bowler for wickets right now. His express pace, the ability to swing the ball both ways, and impeccable line and length have thoroughly troubled the batters — especially in white-ball cricket.
Joe Root
Arguably one of the finest Test batters of the current generation, Joe Root is ageing like fine wine. Even in the twilight of his career, the Englishman is threatening to break records and has carried on his incredible form from last year.
Root now has second-most runs in the Test format, with a mammoth 13,543 runs in 158 matches and 288 innings, an average of 51.29, 39 centuries, 66 half-centuries, and a highest score of 262. Against India in the home Test series, Root scored 537 runs with an average of 67.12 in nine innings. In total, he has scored a total of 571 runs this year with an average of 63.44 in six Tests and ten innings. He is also the top run-getter in ODIs this year with 779 runs in 12 innings, a phenomenal average of 70.81, as well as three centuries and four fifties.
Root bats at the most difficult No. 3 spot in Tests, yet he has bailed England out of trouble several times over the years, which is what the team will want him to do at The Ashes down under next month. The veteran batter has been excellent in both red- and white-ball cricket this year, having been a model of consistency and an absolute inspiration for budding batters.
Shubman Gill
Recently appointed Team India captain in Tests and ODIs, Shubman Gill was touted as the next batting superstar when he made his debut in Australia in the 2019 Border–Gavaskar Trophy. Now, he is starting to live up to the billing.
Gill has been phenomenal this year as the top scorer across all three formats with 1,596 runs in 33 innings, boasting an average of 53.20, with seven centuries, three half-centuries, and a highest score of 269. In Tests alone, Gill is the leading top scorer with a mammoth 979 runs in 15 innings, an average of 69.92, and five centuries and one fifty.
In his debut Test series as captain against England, Gill took on the responsibility with aplomb, leading the scoring charts with 700+ runs as well as scoring a double hundred and a hundred in a single match. It was due in no small part to his scintillating batting efforts that India were able to draw the series 2–2. In the ODI format, he has again performed on a consistent basis, having registered 490 runs in 11 innings with an average of 49 and two hundreds and fifties each.
Gill’s vital consistent contributions have resulted in Team India coach Gautam Gambhir handing him the vice-captaincy in the T20 format, where again he is viewed as the future leader. Still only 26, Gill has a long way to go, but already he is one of India’s most important batter in red-ball cricket. Usually, the role of captaincy puts pressure on a player, but Gill seems to be thriving despite the added responsibilities, which makes it all the more impressive that he has been one of the most consistent batters this year.
