Top 5 cricket controversies that shocked fans in 2025

<p>The year 2025 saw some exhilarating performances from star players as well as talented youngsters. There were several marquee events and bilateral series which produced riveting action between bat and ball. However, some experienced stalwarts failed to do justice to their potential.</p>
<p>In this article, let's look at some big names who could not deliver the kind of performances expected from them in the year gone by.</p>
<hr>
<h2>5 high-profile players who failed to perform in 2025</h2>
<h3>5. Glenn Maxwell</h3>
<figure class="image" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1762430056426_Jitesh-Sharma-and-Glenn-Maxwell.jpeg" alt="Jitesh Sharma and Glenn Maxwell" width="960" height="600" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img>
<figcaption>Jitesh Sharma and Glenn Maxwell. (Photo source: BCCI)</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-players/glenn-maxwell/"><strong>Glenn Maxwell</strong> </a>had a dismal outing in 2025. The star all-rounder had a forgettable time during the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he scored just 48 runs from seven matches and picked just four wickets. He was slightly better in international cricket but nowhere near his best.</p>
<p>He scored only 40 runs at an average of 20 in four ODIs, while he played 10 T20Is matches, aggregating 171 runs at an average of 21.37 and a strike rate of 169.30. He fared better with the ball, bagging two and six wickets in ODIs and T20Is, respectively.</p>
<p></p>
<h3>4. Charith Asalanka</h3>
<figure class="image" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1762839708289_Untitled-design-(35).jpeg" alt="Sri Lanka's captain Charith Asalanka during an ODI match" width="960" height="600" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img>
<figcaption>Charith Asalanka (Source: Tanvin Tamim via Getty Images)</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-players/charith-asalanka/">Charith Asalanka</a> </strong>did well in the ODI format this year, scoring 494 runs at an average of 44.90 in 12 innings in the 50-over format. However, his struggles in T20I cricket were alarming. In 12 outings with the willow, the southpaw managed only 156 runs at a paltry average of 15.60 and a strike rate of 121.87.</p>
<p>The Sri Lankan team also failed to muster the kind of results they would have wanted under Asalanka's captaincy. As a result, he lost his T20I captaincy to Dasun Shanaka, less than two months before the T20 World Cup.</p>
<p></p>
<h3>3. Babar Azam</h3>
<figure class="image" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1755500933205_Babar-Azam-(2).jpeg" alt="Babar Azam" width="960" height="600" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img>
<figcaption>Babar Azam (Source: Twitter)</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Former Pakistan captain&nbsp;<a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-players/babar-azam/"><strong>Babar Azam</strong> </a>might be one of the most scrutinised cricketers these days, but there is no doubt about the talent he possesses. However, the right-handed batter had an underwhelming run with the bat in 2025.</p>
<p>Babar scored 315 runs at an average of 31.50 in five Tests, while in ODIs, he aggregated 544 runs at an average of 34his strike rate was a dismaying 114.44.</p>
<p></p>
<h3>2. Suryakumar Yadav</h3>
<figure class="image" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1762238035472_Suryakumar-Yadav.jpeg" alt="Suryakumar Yadav" width="960" height="600" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img>
<figcaption>Suryakumar Yadav. (Photo Source: Francois Nel/Getty Images)</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-players/suryakumar-yadav/">Suryakumar Yadav</a></strong> created history during IPL 2025, as he became the first batter to score sixteen 25-plus scores in any T20 tournament. The 35-year-old finishes as the second-highest run-getter in the tournament behind Sai Sudharsan.</p>
<p>However, he failed to replicate that form in the international arena. The Mumbai batter scored only 218 runs at an average of 13.62 and a strike rate of 123.16 in the 21 innings he played in the year. Suryakumar could not register a single half-century in T20I cricket in 2025.</p>
<p></p>
<h3>1. Rishabh Pant</h3>
<figure class="image" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1753367041390_Rishabh-Pant.jpeg" alt="Rishabh Pant" width="960" height="600" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img>
<figcaption>Rishabh Pant. (Photo source: BCCI)</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-players/rishabh-pant/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Rishabh Pant</strong></a> had an indifferent outing with the bat in 2025. Firstly, in IPL 2025, the most expensive player in the tournament's history scored just 269 runs from 14 matches at an average of 24.45. The numbers would have looked even worse had he not scored a century in the last league game for the Lucknow Super Giants.</p>
<div class="ct-read-more ct-box mceNonEditable" data-label-text="Also Read" id="695cc2f99fe03fdbc7b65870" data-fantasy-id="" data-msg="Also Read: cricket-appeal/top-5-cricket-controversies-that-shocked-fans-in-2025"></div>
<p>In the international circuit, Pant did finish the year with an average of 48.38 in the longest format. However, in the two-match Test series against South Africa, where India were whitewashed, the wicketkeeper-batter managed only 49 runs from four innings at an average of 12.25. Meanwhile, he did not get the chance to play a single white-ball game for India in 2025. Pant also failed to make it to side for the T20 World Cup.</p>

<p>The year 2025 saw some exhilarating performances from star players as well as talented youngsters. There were several marquee events and bilateral series which produced riveting action between bat and ball. However, some experienced stalwarts failed to do justice to their potential.</p>
<p>In this article, let's look at some big names who could not deliver the kind of performances expected from them in the year gone by.</p>
<hr>
<h2>5 high-profile players who failed to perform in 2025</h2>
<h3>5. Glenn Maxwell</h3>
<figure class="image"><img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1762430056426_Jitesh-Sharma-and-Glenn-Maxwell.jpeg" alt="Jitesh Sharma and Glenn Maxwell" width="662" loading="lazy">
<figcaption>Jitesh Sharma and Glenn Maxwell. (Photo source: BCCI)</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-players/glenn-maxwell/"><strong>Glenn Maxwell</strong> </a>had a dismal outing in 2025. The star all-rounder had a forgettable time during the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he scored just 48 runs from seven matches and picked just four wickets. He was slightly better in international cricket but nowhere near his best.</p>
<p>He scored only 40 runs at an average of 20 in four ODIs, while he played 10 T20Is matches, aggregating 171 runs at an average of 21.37 and a strike rate of 169.30. He fared better with the ball, bagging two and six wickets in ODIs and T20Is, respectively.</p>
<p></p>
<h3>4. Charith Asalanka</h3>
<figure class="image"><img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1762839708289_Untitled-design-(35).jpeg" alt="Sri Lanka's captain Charith Asalanka during an ODI match" width="667" loading="lazy">
<figcaption>Charith Asalanka (Source: Tanvin Tamim via Getty Images)</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-players/charith-asalanka/">Charith Asalanka</a> </strong>did well in the ODI format this year, scoring 494 runs at an average of 44.90 in 12 innings in the 50-over format. However, his struggles in T20I cricket were alarming. In 12 outings with the willow, the southpaw managed only 156 runs at a paltry average of 15.60 and a strike rate of 121.87.</p>
<p>The Sri Lankan team also failed to muster the kind of results they would have wanted under Asalanka's captaincy. As a result, he lost his T20I captaincy to Dasun Shanaka, less than two months before the T20 World Cup.</p>
<p></p>
<h3>3. Babar Azam</h3>
<figure class="image"><img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1755500933205_Babar-Azam-(2).jpeg" alt="Babar Azam" width="661" loading="lazy">
<figcaption>Babar Azam (Source: Twitter)</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Former Pakistan captain&nbsp;<a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-players/babar-azam/"><strong>Babar Azam</strong> </a>might be one of the most scrutinised cricketers these days, but there is no doubt about the talent he possesses. However, the right-handed batter had an underwhelming run with the bat in 2025.</p>
<p>Babar scored 315 runs at an average of 31.50 in five Tests, while in ODIs, he aggregated 544 runs at an average of 34his strike rate was a dismaying 114.44.</p>
<p></p>
<h3>2. Suryakumar Yadav</h3>
<figure class="image"><img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1762238035472_Suryakumar-Yadav.jpeg" alt="Suryakumar Yadav" width="662" loading="lazy">
<figcaption>Suryakumar Yadav. (Photo Source: Francois Nel/Getty Images)</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-players/suryakumar-yadav/">Suryakumar Yadav</a></strong> created history during IPL 2025, as he became the first batter to score sixteen 25-plus scores in any T20 tournament. The 35-year-old finishes as the second-highest run-getter in the tournament behind Sai Sudharsan.</p>
<p>However, he failed to replicate that form in the international arena. The Mumbai batter scored only 218 runs at an average of 13.62 and a strike rate of 123.16 in the 21 innings he played in the year. Suryakumar could not register a single half-century in T20I cricket in 2025.</p>
<p></p>
<h3>1. Rishabh Pant</h3>
<figure class="image"><img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1753367041390_Rishabh-Pant.jpeg" alt="Rishabh Pant" width="666" loading="lazy">
<figcaption>Rishabh Pant. (Photo source: BCCI)</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-players/rishabh-pant/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Rishabh Pant</strong></a> had an indifferent outing with the bat in 2025. Firstly, in IPL 2025, the most expensive player in the tournament's history scored just 269 runs from 14 matches at an average of 24.45. The numbers would have looked even worse had he not scored a century in the last league game for the Lucknow Super Giants.</p>
<div class="ct-read-more ct-box mceNonEditable" data-label-text="Also Read" id="695cc2f99fe03fdbc7b65870" data-fantasy-id="" data-msg="Also Read: cricket-appeal/top-5-cricket-controversies-that-shocked-fans-in-2025"></div>
<p>In the international circuit, Pant did finish the year with an average of 48.38 in the longest format. However, in the two-match Test series against South Africa, where India were whitewashed, the wicketkeeper-batter managed only 49 runs from four innings at an average of 12.25. Meanwhile, he did not get the chance to play a single white-ball game for India in 2025. Pant also failed to make it to side for the T20 World Cup.</p>

The year 2025 saw some exhilarating performances from star players as well as talented youngsters. There were several marquee events and bilateral series which produced riveting action between bat and

5 high-profile players who failed to perform in 2025

2025 saw some exhilarating performances from star players as well as talented youngsters. However, some experienced stalwarts failed to live up to their potential.

Check out five high-profile players who struggled to perform in 2025 and failed to live up to expectations across major matches and tournaments, only on CricTracker.