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No national cricketers but India’s Abhishek Sharma was the most-searched athlete in Pakistan in 2025.
Indian players celebrate after winning (Picture credit: AP)
India’s young opening batter Abhishek Sharma not only captured the minds of fans in India in 2025, but also managed to have a significant impact on neighboring Pakistan.
According to Google’s search trends for 2025, Abhishek was the most-searched athlete in Pakistan, getting even more volume of searches from the country than he did in India. He was followed by Pakistan cricketers Hassan Nawaz, Irfan Khan Niazi, Sahibzada Farhan, and Muhammad Abbas in the list.
Abhishek’s popularity likely stems from his performances against Pakistan in the 2025 Asia Cup. The left-hander made a cameo of 31 off 13 against them in the group stage, following it up with a 39-ball 74 in the Super-Four round — becoming a constant threat in an Indian team that was struggling otherwise.
Faheem Ashraf managed to get him out cheaply in the final, but India went on to win anyway.
Still, it was a year where Abhishek truly announced himself to the world. In India, he was the third-most searched person. The top-10 were all cricketers, with Bihar’s teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Delhi’s Priyansh Arya leading the pack.
Sooryavanshi made headlines in the IPL with an unexpected debut at 13 years of age. Soon, he became the youngest to score a century in the format. Priyansh, meanwhile, was excellent for the Punjab Kings.
Two women’s cricketing stars were in the top-10: vice-captain Smriti Mandhana and the match-winner of the World Cup semi-final against Australia, Jemimah Rodrigues. Three uncapped players part of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) made it to the top-10 list: Shaik Rasheed, Ayush Mhatre, and Urvil Patel.
India returnee Karun Nair and Mumbai Indians’ Vignesh Puthur rounded the list off.
Meanwhile, the ‘overall’ top searches in India were hogged by the IPL, while four of the five most searched sports tournaments were also in cricket, with the Pro Kabaddi League taking the fifth spot.
Click here to add News18 as your preferred news source on Google. December 08, 2025, 17:56 IST
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