In the final 2025 wrap, Cricket Australia has revealed its best Test XI for the year 2025, and it’s an unbiased pack of players based on their recent exploits in red-ball cricket. They have also backed a non-Australian skipper for his commendable rise in Test cricket in 2025.
2025 was one of the most exciting years in terms of Test cricket. The year concludes with several memorable performances and the establishment of new individual and team records. Undoubtedly, South Africa and Australia were the two glorious teams in the year that achieved rare feats.
South Africa whitewashed India on their home soil, while the Aussies were almost invincible in the year, losing only 2 of their 11 Tests, which also included the WTC 2025 final. They also set a record high, dismissing the West Indies for 27 in an inning at their home.
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England and India, the two other red-ball heavyweights in recent times, started off the WTC in some fashion. The two teams played the most intense and competitive series of the northern summer; however, both of these teams ended the year on a drastic note, with England losing the Ashes and India being whitewashed in their home.
Indian and Australian combine for the opening spot in Cricket Australia’s Test XI
India’s premier Test opener, KL Rahul, has had one of the finest years of his Test career. Reviving his Test career from the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2024-25, KL Rahul became a regular in the Test team after former captain Rohit Sharma’s retirement.
Going to England, no overseas opener has had such a terrific run as the Indian batter. In 5 matches, Rahul amassed 532 runs with two centuries and the same number of half-centuries. Though he failed to continue the streak against South Africa, this would remain one of his finest years in Test cricket. He finished with 813 runs across 10 matches at an average of 45.16.
Australian explosive batter Travis Head joins KL Rahul at the top of the order. However, Head was not posed as an opener in the Australian team. When Usman Khawaja was injured, Head was promoted to open the innings, which seemed like a breakthrough for the batter.
He broke the shackles, scored two hundreds during the Ashes, first in Perth and then in his hometown Adelaide, and finished the year as the second-highest run-getter, only behind India’s Shubman Gill. Though Head scored a terrific 170+ at Adelaide, his 123 in the second innings of the Ashes opener remains his most exciting heist.
WTC-winning skipper picked to anchor the middle-order
Cricket Australia has truly shown the guts to name an overseas skipper as the finest for 2025. They have shied away from Pat Cummins, the Australian skipper who has missed the majority of the games the Aussies have played in recent times.
Though Temba Bavuma has also not been playing in every South African match, yet any and every match he has won, he has led the Proteas to victory. If not for the 66 he made against Australia despite a hamstring tear, the Proteas might have missed out on their maiden ICC title on another occasion.
Bavuma also showed some dominance with the bat, averaging 51.66 in 4 matches with the highest score of 106.
Not Rishabh Pant; Cricket Australia names this wicket-keeper in its Best XI
However, Cricket Australia has picked Alex Carey as its wicket-keeper. One of the finest years for the South Australian gloveman, Carey managed 767 runs down the order at an average of 47.93 with two Test hundreds.
It was impossible to overlook Carey’s expertise behind the wickets as well. In 11 matches, he completed 44 catches and finished 5 stumpings as well, and was effective on many of the Australian dismissals during the Ashes. Rishabh Pant, the Indian wicket-keeper who also had a stellar series in England, was found inconsistent against South Africa.
Ben Stokes features in Cricket Australia’s XI
Ravindra Jadeja, the veteran Indian all-rounder, produced his best year with the bat. Playing in England, the batter was India’s second-highest scorer and finished the year with 764 runs with the bat.
He was among the few batters to show resistance against the South African bowling attack in Guwahati. However, Jadeja was less effective with the ball, as his 25 wickets came at an average of 38.2, his worst since 2014. He was named as the 12th man.
England skipper Ben Stokes was picked as the only all-rounder in the side. Stokes, who returned to bowling after several years in red-ball cricket, relished his outings with the ball across the English as well as the Australian summer. With 496 runs and 33 wickets in 9 games, Stokes can also be named the best all-rounder of 2025.
Mitchell Starc and Jasprit Bumrah feature in Cricket Australia’s XI
Australian speedster Mitchell Starc and Indian paceman Jasprit Bumrah are two of the most common names in the Best Test XI of modern times. The two national greats have often produced some amazing numbers. Starc this time finished at the top of the tally with 55 wickets in 11 matches and was Australia’s saviour in the Ashes in skipper Cummins and Josh Hazlewood’s absence.
Bumrah, on the other hand, had a much worse season when compared to his exceptional run in 2024, where he finished with 71 wickets in a calendar year. Yet his exploits in England and back at home have impressed all. The two new joinees include Australia’s Scott Boland and Protea spinner Simon Harmer.
Harmer had a memorable series in the subcontinent against Pakistan and India, as he finished with 30 wickets in 4 matches. Scott Boland, on the other hand, emerged as a major force for Australia in the absence of their veteran pacer Josh Hazlewood.
Cricket Australia’s Best Test XI of 2025: KL Rahul, Travis Head, Joe Root, Shubman Gill, Temba Bavuma (C), Alex Carey (wk), Ben Stokes, Mitchell Starc, Jasprit Bumrah, Scott Boland, Simon Harmer, Ravindra Jadeja (12th man)
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