Indian cricketers dominate Wisden Almanack 2026 honours, secure seven of nine awards

New Delhi: Indian cricketers dominated the Wisden Almanack 2026 honours, winning a record seven out of nine awards. India women’s star cricketer Deepti Sharma was named the Women’s Cricketer of the Year while flamboyant men’s left-hander Abhishek Sharma bagged the T20 Cricketer of the Year.

Among the other Indian awardees, Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja  were named among Wisden’s Five cricketers of the Year after their heroics in last year’s Test series in England. Among the non-Indian winners, premier Australian pacer Mitchell Starc was named Men’s Cricketer in the World and England batter Haseeb Hameed was also included among the Five Cricketers of the Year.

Deepti, Abhishek shine for India

Deepti shined for the country earning the honour after emerging as the top wicket-taker in last year’s women’s ODI World Cup with 22 wickets. The all-rounder’s efforts helped the Indian women’s team bag their maiden global ICC title after they thrashed South Africa in the finale in Mumbai. Deepti also scored 215 runs from nine matches with three half-centuries.

Meanwhile for Abhishek, 2025 was a breakout season as the dashing batter scored 859 runs from 21 matches at a strike rate of 193 with a century and five half-centuries. India’s Test captain Gill was in a brilliant form during the last summer scoring 754 runs. His performance played a pivotal role in India securing a 2-2 draw in the five-match series.

As far as India’s pace department is concerned, Siraj was the top wicket-taker in the Anderson-Tendulkar series, claiming 23 wickets. While Pant made 479 runs before an injury that he suffered in the fourth Test forced him to sit out of the fifth match. He braved a toe fracture to score a 54 in the second innings at Manchester.