At first glance, 2025 appeared to be an uneventful year for Indian sport. It arrived without the drama of an Olympics, an Asian Games or a football World Cup. Yet, in retrospect, it stands out as a quietly consequential year — one that consolidated gains, tested transitions, and set the emotional and competitive tone for an extraordinarily crowded 2026. Rather than a lull, 2025 functioned as a bridge between eras, revealing where Indian sport is strongest, where it is uncertain, and where its ambitions are headed.
Women Redefining the Sporting Narrative
The most defining thread of 2025 was the dominance of women athletes. India’s Women’s Cricket World Cup triumph was not merely a sporting milestone; it was a cultural statement. Led by Harmanpreet Kaur, the team’s success normalised excellence rather than novelty, reinforcing the idea that Indian women winning global titles is no longer an exception.
Beyond cricket, women athletes consistently delivered across disciplines — wrestling, boxing, shooting, archery, badminton and squash. Their performances reflected the long-term payoff of better support systems, increased visibility and professional pathways. Importantly, women’s sport in India is now creating its own momentum, driven not only by medals but also by commercial promise. With a women’s T20 World Cup scheduled in 2026, the possibility of back-to-back global cricket titles could propel the women’s game into a new economic and cultural league.
Men’s Cricket: Transition Without Collapse
If women’s sport offered clarity, men’s cricket embodied churn. The year was marked by transition rather than decline. Shubman Gill’s elevation to Test captaincy signalled generational change, while his omission from the T20 World Cup squad underlined the unforgiving, format-specific logic of modern cricket.
The red-ball team experienced instability under coach Gautam Gambhir, compounded by the near-simultaneous Test retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Yet, their continued relevance in One-Day Internationals challenged the assumption that transition requires erasure. Kohli’s three centuries in 2025 and Rohit’s renewed sharpness demonstrated that experience can coexist with renewal — a valuable lesson for a cricket ecosystem often impatient with ageing stars.
The T20 Avalanche and the Home Advantage Gamble
The shadow of 2026 loomed large over 2025, particularly in cricket. In just six months of 2026, India will host an unprecedented 146 T20 matches — including a home T20 World Cup, a five-match T20I series against New Zealand, and the largest-ever IPL season with 84 games. Add the Women’s Premier League, and the calendar edges toward saturation.
For India, hosting the T20 World Cup is more than logistical convenience; it is a strategic opportunity. Since winning the inaugural edition in 2007, India’s T20 World Cup record has been inconsistent. A successful title defence — following the 2024 triumph — could reframe recent red-ball disappointments as transitional growing pains rather than systemic failure, and buy time for a coaching regime under scrutiny.
Entering the Global Sporting Super-Cycle
Beyond cricket, global sport accelerates sharply after mid-2026. The FIFA World Cup in North America, expanded to 48 teams, promises spectacle and scale. For fans, it carries romantic subplots — Italy’s qualification struggle, the fading rivalry of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo — but also political undertones. Visa regimes, immigration enforcement and security anxieties threaten to intrude into what is meant to be a celebration of global sport.
Almost immediately after, the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow will begin. Reduced to just 10 sports, and stripped of several disciplines where India traditionally dominates, the Games may appear diminished. Yet they retain symbolic value. A potential javelin duel