Wisden Award Winners 2026: Deepti Named Leading Women’s Cricketer; Abhishek Named T20 Cricketer

 

 

Wisden has selected Australia's legendary Mitchell Starc and India's outstanding all-rounder Deepti Sharma for their prestigious awards. The Australian pacer has been chosen in the men's category, while Deepti has been selected in the women's category. Moreover—and this is a matter of pride—this list also includes four Indian cricketers. These awards recognize achievements from the previous year and are presented annually.

The Wisden Cricketers' Almanack has named Australia's formidable fast bowler Mitchell Starc as the world's leading male cricketer, while selecting Deepti Sharma as the leading female player. Mitchell Starc played a pivotal role in the 2025 Ashes series against England. As for Deepti Sharma, she played a significant role in India's historic World Cup victory in November.

 

Starc, now nearly 36 years old, took 55 wickets in 11 Test matches played in 2025. During this period, his average was 17.32. Starc delivered a remarkable performance against the West Indies, taking 6 wickets for just 9 runs. Subsequently, he claimed 18 wickets in the first two Ashes Tests. Moreover, he took a total of 31 wickets in the five-match Test series.

 

Deepti Sharma was the star of India's ODI World Cup victory. The Indian team created history by defeating South Africa in the final match. India won the final by 52 runs, clinching the ODI World Cup title for the very first time. In that tournament, Deepti Sharma not only scored 215 runs but also claimed 22 wickets. Deepti's performance in the final match was truly commendable. That is precisely why she is being honoured with this award.

The quartet of Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant and Mohammed Siraj are also included in the cricketers of the year. All of these cricketers dished out brilliant performances in the Test series between India and England. The only non-Indian cricketer in the list is England batter Haseeb Hamid.