India owned white-ball cricket while South Africa shed their bridesmaids tag but the spectre of geopolitics loomed large over the game in a tumultuous 2025.
The already-soured relations between bitter rivals India and Pakistan reached a new low when the nuclear-armed neighbours engaged in a military conflict in May that nearly snowballed into a full-fledged war.
It disrupted the Indian Premier League and the bad blood was evident in the subsequent 20-overs Asia Cup tournament in the United Arab Emirates, where India refused to accept the winners trophy from Asian Cricket Council ACC president Mohsin Naqvi, who also happens to be Pakistans interior minister.
