It is said that the game is never dependent on the age of the player. James Anderson is an example of this in cricket. If age was the yardstick to measure the stature of a player, then the high command of cricket would not have been saluting him. James Anderson of England would not have been on the number one position again. The ICC has released the latest ICC Test rankings and has placed Anderson on top of the list of bowlers. He got the first position with 866 rating points.

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At an age when other players are contemplating retirement, legendary England fast bowler James Anderson is creating history. In the latest ICC Test rankings, Anderson has jumped to number one. He has got the benefit of an amazing performance in the Day-Night Test against New Zealand. At the same time, Ravichandran Ashwin has also reached the second number by climbing up 2 places. He has got the reward of an excellent performance in the Test series against Australia. However, amidst this advantage to Anderson and Ashwin, Pat Cummins has suffered. He has now slipped from the first to the third position in the ICC Test rankings.

Anderson took seven wickets against New Zealand at Mount Maunganui last week as England won the match by 267 runs. On the basis of this performance, Anderson has once again topped the ICC Test rankings at the age of 40.

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This is the sixth time that Anderson, who made his debut in 2003, has topped the ICC Test rankings. He reached the number-one spot in the ICC Test rankings for the first time in May 2016. After this, in 2018, he was the top Test bowler for five months. After this Kagiso Rabada removed him. Now Anderson has made a strong comeback again. He is behind only Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne in terms of taking the most wickets in Tests. Anderson has 682 Test wickets, Shane Warne has 708 and Muttiah Muralitharan has taken 800 Test wickets.

Meanwhile, Ollie Robinson, the fourth-ranked bowler, saw a jump in his rating points. He has 820 points, while Team India's injured fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah is the fifth-best bowler with 795 points.

Mohammed Siraj has been named the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for August 2025, following his match-winning performance in the final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at The Oval. The right-armer, who bowled 46 overs in the Test, was also named Player of the Match for his efforts. Siraj beat competition from New Zealand pacer Matt Henry and West Indies quick Jayden Seales to clinch the monthly honour.

Let's have a look at all the Indian men's cricketers who won ICC Player of the Month award. Some have won the award more than once.

Also Read: Asia Cup Winners List from 1984 to 2023

 ICC Player of the Month Award Winners

9. Mohammed Siraj

Mohammed Siraj won the ICC Player of the Month award in August 2025. It is worth noting that Siraj’s exceptional performance in India’s tour of England and his brilliance in the clash held at The Oval were among the biggest reasons why Siraj won award. Siraj took three wickets on the final day of the last test of the series against England, which helped the Indian team register a brilliant win. 

Siraj produced a stunning nine-wicket haul across both innings to help India level the five-Test series 2-2. His second-innings burst included a decisive five-wicket haul that dismantled England’s batting order and sealed victory for the visitors.

8. Yashasvi Jaiswal

Yashasvi Jaiswal bagged the ICC Player of the Month Award for his sensational performance in the Test series against England in March 2024. Jaiswal beat New Zealand's Kane Williamson and Sri Lanka's Pathum Nissanka for the award.

Jaiswal was also named the player of the series in England's 5-Test tour against India. The batter scored 712 runs in 5 Test matches, surpassing Virat Kohli's tally of most runs in a single Test series vs England. Jaiswal also became only the second India batter after Sunil Gavaskar to hit 700+ runs in a series.

7. Virat Kohli

Star batter Virat Kohli was named the ICC Player of the Month for October 2022 following a series of stellar performances during India's charge to the T20 World Cup semifinals in Australia. He scored 205 runs with the bat. Apart from scoring a brilliant half-century against Netherlands in Sydney, he produced an unforgettable innings in the stunning victory over Pakistan in front of a capacity crowd at the MCG to kick off their campaign in style.

At 31 for four, Kohli asserted his dominance on the opposition bowlers in a memorable display of controlled aggression, helping his side to chase down the 160 targets on the final ball, thanks to his unbeaten 82 from 53 balls.

6. Bhuvneshwar Kumar

India seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar won the ICC Player of the Month award in March 2021 for his superlative show in the limited overs series against England. Bhuvi took six wickets at an economy rate of 4.65 in the three ODIs, while capturing four wickets at a fantastic economy rate of 6.38 in the five T20Is to emerge as the standout bowler on either side in the white ball series. 

Bhuvneshwar became the third successive Indian recipient of the award since its inception early this year. 

5. Ravichandran Ashwin 

Ravichandran Ashwin has won the ICC Men's Player of the Month award for February 2021 after his all-round display in the Test series against England. Ashwin not only finished as the top wicket-taker in the 3-1 series win against England, but also scored his seventh Test century. 

Ashwin scored 176 runs in the three matches in February and took 24 wickets in the month. He also became the second-fastest bowler in history to 400 Test wickets, behind only Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan.

Also Read: ICC tournaments hosted by India – History & Highlights

4. Rishabh Pant

The Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has won the inaugural ICC Player of the Month award 2021. Pant has been honoured for his superlative performances in the two Tests against Australia in January 2021, wherein he scored a 97 at Sydney and an unbeaten 89 at Brisbane.

Pant was chosen ahead of England captain Joe Root and Ireland's Paul Stirling in the voting to bag the award. Pant's innings helped India to become the first team in 32 years to beat Australia at the Gabba in Test cricket. 

3. Shreyas Iyer | 2 Times

Shreyas Iyer was named as ICC Men's Player of the Month twice in February 2022 and March 2025 for his performance during India's triumphant Champions Trophy 2025.

With 172 runs coming at an average of 57.33 during the final three games of the Champions Trophy, Iyer was a leading light for India as they secured a landmark third win in the competition’s history. He ended the tournament as the second-highest scorer with 243 runs at an average of 48.60.

2. Jasprit Bumrah | 2 Times

Jasprit Bumrah was crowned as the winner of the ICC Player of the Month Award for two times in December and June 2024. Bumrah won the prize twice in the calendar year. Bumrah's incredible display in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) was rewarded by the ICC in December 2024. Previously he won the top honour in June 2024 following his heroic display in the T20 World Cup 2024.

1. Shubman Gill | 4 Times

Indian Test team captain Shubman Gill was named ICC Player of the Month four times - in January 2023, September 2023, February 2025, and July 2025. He is also the first male player to win the award four times. Gill was also named in the ICC Men's ODI Team of the Year in 2023.

His latest win came after an amazing performance in Test matches against England in July 2025, where he showed outstanding batting skills as India's newly appointed Test captain. 

Gill finished as the leading run scorer of the series, having scored 754 runs from ten innings at an average of 75.4 with four hundreds to his name. He started the series with a magnificent 147 at Headingley, Leeds and further accumulated 430 runs (269, 161) in the second Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham, the second-highest match aggregate in the format.

The ICC Women's World Cup 2025 is scheduled to be hosted by India in September-October. This will be the 13th edition of the tournament. India has reached the final of the Women's ODI Cricket World Cup twice, but has never won it.

Australia Women’s Team lift the previous edition of the ICC World Cup at the Christchurch Cricket Stadium in New Zealand. They defeated the England team with 71 runs.

Let's have a look at the ICC Women's World Cup past winners and most successful teams.

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ICC Women's World Cup | First Edition Winner

The women's cricket World Cup was held 2 years before the first men's World Cup. In 1973, the tournament was first hosted with 7 teams participating in the tournament. The tournament was hosted by England. England became the champion by defeating Australia in the 60-over tournament.

India was not a part of it. The Indian women's cricket team made its debut in the Women's Cricket World Cup in 1978, which was hosted by India.

England scored a mammoth total of 279/3 in 60 overs with Enid Bakewell scoring 118 and captain Rachael Heyhoe Flint contributing 64. Australia struggled to chase the target and scored 187/9. Bakewell became the highest run scorer in the tournament. She scored 264 runs. Rosalind Heggs of England took the most wickets with 12.

Read Also: ICC tournaments hosted by India – History & Highlights

2022 Women's World Cup Winner

Australia beat England by 71 runs to lift the ICC Women's World Cup 2022 trophy. This is the seventh World Cup title for the Australian women.

The Meg Lanning-led side had put up 356 runs on the scoreboard for the loss of 5 wickets while batting first and managed to get England all out for 285 runs despite Natalie Sciver's brave attempts to keep her side still in the game.

ICC Women's World Cup | Most Successful Teams

Australia is the most successful women's cricket team with seven titles. Australia has dominated women’s cricket like no other team, winning the most ICC trophies in history. With a staggering 7 titles in the Women’s ODI World Cup, the Australian Women’s team has set the benchmark for excellence on the global stage. 

Their closest competitor, England, has managed to secure four World Cups, a distant second that underscores Australia’s dominance.

• Australia (7 times): 1978, 1982, 1989, 1998, 2005, 2013, 2022
• England (4 times): 1973, 1993, 2009, 2017
• New Zealand (1 time): 2000

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ICC Women's World Cup | Past Winners

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday announced that the upcoming ICC Women's World Cup 2025 will feature the biggest ever prize money for the winning team. 

This time the champion team will get 4.48 million US dollars (about Rs 39.55 crores), which is almost four times more than the prize money of the previous edition (1.32 million dollars or Rs 11.65 crores).

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Prize money increases more than the 2023 Men’s World Cup

Women's World Cup 2025, to be held from September 30 to November 2 under the hosting of India and Sri Lanka, will be played between a total of eight teams.

The total prize money of this tournament will be US $ 13.88 million (about Rs 122.5 crore), which is almost three times more than the last World Cup held in New Zealand in 2022 (3.5 million dollars i.e. Rs 31 crore).

Moreover, this prize money is more than the Men's World Cup 2023 ($10 million i.e. Rs 88.26 crore).

'strategy to focus on the growth of the women’s game.'

The winning team of the men's ODI World Cup in 2023, Australia, received Rs 33.31 crore. Whereas, the runner-up India received Rs 16.65 crore. The winning amount of the Women's ODI World Cup is much more than this.

According to the ICC, the purpose of this increase is to increase the popularity of women's cricket and to give it equal respect as men's cricket.

“Strategy to focus on the growth of the women’s game.” ICC said in its statement on Sunday.

Also Read: ICC Women’s World Cup 2025: Chinnaswamy Stadium loses hosting rights due to “unforeseen circumstances” after RCB stampede case

Women cricketers must know they will be treated on par with men: Jay Shah

In another boost for women's cricket, there will be a huge increase in prize money for the @ICC Women’s @CricketWorldCup 2025. Overall prize money totals USD $13.88M, a 297% increase from the last edition and more than the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 (USD $10M). #CWC25 pic.twitter.com/rXtIhFEax5

— Jay Shah (@JayShah) September 1, 2025

ICC president Jay Shah said that the increased prize money shows that the global body will treat women players as equals to men’s cricketers. 

“This announcement marks a defining milestone in the journey of women’s cricket. This four-fold increase in prize money is a landmark moment for women’s cricket and reflects our clear commitment to its long-term growth," Shah said. 

“Our message is simple, women cricketers must know they will be treated on par with men if they choose this sport professionally."

“The uplift underscores our ambition to deliver a world-class ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup and to inspire the next generation of players and fans. Women’s cricket is on a remarkable upward trajectory, and with this step we are confident the momentum will accelerate. We call upon all stakeholders, fans, media, partners, and Member Boards, to join us in championing the women’s game and ensuring it receives the recognition and respect it deserves.” Jay Shah further added.

The ICC Women's World Cup 2025 is to be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka and a total of 8 teams are to participate in it. But even before the tournament starts, a big change has been made in its schedule.

After the stampede in Bengaluru, the ICC has now decided to shift the matches to be held at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru to the ground in Navi Mumbai, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Friday.

Also Read: ICC Women’s World Cup 2025: Indian squad announced, Shefali Verma not in the team

Matches cancelled in Bengaluru due to RCB stampede case

After 17 years of long wait, RCB team finally won the IPL 2025 title. After this, RCB players gathered at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru to celebrate the victory. There was a huge crowd to see them and after this many fans lost their lives due to a stampede.

Then the Karnataka government formed a commission, which declared the Bengaluru ground unsafe for big events. Now after this, the ICC has decided not to hold matches on the Bengaluru ground.

Matches will be held at Navi Mumbai ground

The match between India and Sri Lanka was to be held on 30 September at Bengaluru ground, which will now be played at Guwahati ground. The match between England and South Africa was also scheduled to be held on 3 October, which will now be held in Guwahati. The match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh on 20 October was to be played at Colombo ground, which will now be played at Navi Mumbai ground. 

On the other hand, Navi Mumbai has got two more matches to be played in Bengaluru. These include India vs New Zealand (23 October) and India vs Bangladesh (26 October). There is also a strong possibility that the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 final will be held either in Navi Mumbai or Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Also Read: India Cricket team's performance in every ICC Women's World Cup

Jay Shah expressed satisfaction about the new venue

"Navi Mumbai has emerged as a genuine home for women’s cricket in recent years. The support it has received during international fixtures and the Women’s Premier League has been remarkable, creating an atmosphere that elevates the players and inspires fans. I am certain that the same energy will define the big matches of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup as it returns to India after 12 years," Jay Shah said in an ICC release.

“We stand at a pivotal moment in the journey of the women’s game. This World Cup has the potential to be remembered as one of those defining milestones that shaped the sport’s future, not only in India but across the cricketing world.

“While unforeseen circumstances required us to adjust the schedule and replace a venue, we are pleased to now have a line-up of five world-class venues that will showcase the very best of the women’s game. The stage is set, and I am confident this tournament will capture imaginations and inspire a new generation of fans.”

Indian ODI team captain Rohit Sharma has reached the second position in the men's ICC ODI rankings. In the new rankings released by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday, the Hitman jumped one place and reached the second position. With this, he left behind Pakistan's star batsman Babar Azam. 

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Rohit last played in March

Rohit, who has already retired from Tests and T20I, last played an ODI in March during the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final against New Zealand, which India won.

Rohit has scored 180 runs in the ICC Champions Trophy in five matches, boasting a highest strike rate of 100.00 among the Indian batters in the tournament. Rohit has 756 rating points in the latest rankings.

Babar failed to perform against West Indies

On the other hand, Babar could not show anything special in the recent ODI series against West Indies, which the Men in Green lost 1-2 in Trinidad. As a result, he slipped to the third position.

With Babar managing just 56 runs against West Indies in three ODIs, the International Cricket Council (ICC) took a note of his strike rate to drop him to third. He managed a strike rate of just 62.22 against West Indies.

Gill at No. 1

There has been no change in Shubman Gill's reign in the latest ICC ODI rankings for batters. He is in first place with 784 rating points. Apart from Gill and Rohit, the third Indian in the top five is Virat Kohli, who is in fourth place. He has 736 rating points.

India continues to dominate the ODI charts, with five players in the top 15, including Shreyas Iyer (8th) and KL Rahul (15th).

Also Read: Shreyas Iyer's best knocks in Tests

India to play next ODI series against Australia

It is worth mentioning that the Indian team will tour Australia in October. During this time a three-match ODI series will be played between the two.

Rohit announced after Champions Trophy 2025 that he does not intend to retire from ODI cricket, even sharing a moment with Kohli joking about it during the celebrations.

However, despite having eyes on the 2027 Cricket World Cup, Rohit and Kohli's spots are reportedly not a guarantee in the ODI setup. In fact, as per reports in recent days, the veteran duo will also have to turn up in domestic cricket as a metric for form and fitness.

On the other hand, whether Rohit will continue to be captain till the World Cup is also a topic of debate. With 25-year-old Shubman Gill impressing in England, Rohit isn't an automatic captaincy selection anymore. However, the ODI rankings continue to reflect both Rohit and Kohli's continued prowess in the 50-over format.