South Africa's victory in the 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) final marked a historic moment for the sport as the Temba Bavuma-led side ended the country's 27-year wait for an International Cricket Council (ICC) title and also secured their first world title in history.

The Proteas' victory means that each of the three editions has been won by different teams after New Zealand in 2021 and Austalia in 2023. However, only one player from the champion side makes our team of the tournament following the end of the cycle, which lasted two years and saw some intense competition from nine teams across the world.

Yashasvi Jaiswal - Yashasvi Jaiswal made his Test debut in India's first assignment of the cycle against West Indies in July 23. The left-handed opener has taken the world by storm with a nearly flawless start to his Test career. He was the second-highest run-getter of the cycle with 1798 runs in 19 matches (36 innings) at an average of 52.88 and four centuries, which include two double tons. He also made 10 half-centuries.

Ben Duckett - The star England opener Ben Duckett has grown leaps and bounds over the last two years and been key to England's attacking brand of play. Duckett made 1470 runs in 22 matches at an average of 36.75 with two centuries and eight half-centuries.

Joe Root - Joe Root finished as the highest run-getter in the WTC for the second cycle in a row. He set a record tally of 1968 runs with seven centuries and as many half-centuries at a stunning average of 54.66.

Kane Williamson - While New Zealand's matches were limited like champions South Africa and he missed the historic away series victory in India due to injury, Kane Williamson showed his class and left a mark with the joint-second most centuries (5). He made 1152 runs at an average of 54.85 in 11 matches (22 innings).

Kamindu Mendis: Sri Lanka's Kamindu Mendis, who set the world record for becoming the first player to score a half-centuries in his first eight Tests and equalled Don Bradman as the joint-third quickest to 1000 Test runs had the best average in the 2023-25 WTC cycle (62.38) among players with more than 500 runs. The left-handed also hit five centuries in the two-year period.

Alex Carey (WK) - Among wicket-keepers, it was Alex Carey who emerged as the most productive with the bat as he often played crucial knocks for Australia. He made 1020 runs in 20 matches (32 innings) at an average of 35.17 with one century.

Ravinda Jadeja - Indian star Ravindra Jadeja proved why he is the top-ranked all-rounder in Test cricket for an extended period of time. Jadeja played 15 matches (22 innings) and scored 664 runs while taking 55 wickets. He is the only player to take more than 50 wickets and score over 500 runs in this cycle.

Pat Cummins (C) - Pat Cummins finished as the highest wicket-taker of this cycle with 80 wickets in 18 matches, with six-wicket hauls. He also captained Australia to a second consecutive final.

Kagiso Rabada - Kagiso Rabada is the lone player from the champions South African team and further cemented himself as an all-time great in this cycle with a remarkable record of 56 wickets in 11 matches at an average of 18.73. He took four-wicket hauls, which included one in the first innings of the final.

Jasprit Bumrah: Jasprit Bumrah was by far the stand-out bowler of this cycle and a class above the rest. The star Indian pacer finished as the second-highest wicket-taker with 77 wickets in just 15 matches at an astonishing average of 15.09.

Nathan Lyon: Nathan Lyon narrowly beats Ravichandran Ashwin to the lone specialist spinner spot in our best XI with a stunning campaign, which saw him take 66 wickets in 17 matches.

The Unlucky Omissions - Steve Smith, Harry Brook, Mitchell Starc, Ravichandran Ashwin, Prabath Jayasuriya,

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