Shubman Gillthe face of the Indian cricket team and the man appointed to captain both the Test and ODI sides, clearly justified the BCCI’s decision. Since taking over as captain, Gill has transformed from a promising opener to one of India’s most dependable batsmen in the longer formats.In less than a month, Shubman Gill has already scored three centuries across formats.He scored his maiden century against Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2 on 29 May, achieving a strike rate of 196.23. Just a week later, in the one-off Test against Afghanistan on 6 June, Gill registered another hundred, a patient knock that marked his 11th Test century. Then, just 10 days later, in the second ODI on 17 June, he scored his first century since taking over as the permanent ODI captain. Gill smashed 22 fours and two sixes, and although he fell short of a double century, he anchored India to a mammoth total of 402 to seal the series win.All three centuries came as captain, raising an intriguing question: was Gill already on this trajectory before leadership, or did captaincy unlock another level in his game?With Afghanistan currently touring India for the Test and ODI series, Gill has already amassed 364 runs in just three innings at home at a staggering strike rate of 182. However, this is not the first time his strike rate has risen as captain.Eighteen months ago he was a batsman averaging 35 in Tests, and critics often labeled him a serial underdog. Then India handed him the Test and ODI captaincy, and he started rewriting the record books.Gill’s first captaincy assignment came on the tour of England, where he entered the history books like no Indian captain before him. Before the 2025 tour of England, Gill was something of an enigma. After 32 Tests, he averaged just 35.05 – common figures for a player of his immense talent. In fact, only one player in Test history with a lower average after 32 Tests, Chris Gayle, finished his career with an average above 40.
Then came the bracelet.
During 2025, his first year as captain, Gill scored 983 runs in nine Tests at an average of 70.21, almost double his previous mark and the steepest jump before and since by any Indian captain in the modern era.
Shubman Gill overtook his idol Virat Kohli
Shubman Gill has never hidden his admiration for Virat Kohli and the cricketing world knows Kohli’s standard line-ups as India’s Test captain. During his first major assignment as Test captain after MS Dhoni Retired in 2014, Kohli scored 692 runs in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia in 2014-15.Gill, however, fared better. He amassed 754 runs at an average of 75.40 during the five-Test Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, won the man-of-the-series award and surpassed Kohli’s tally. This made him the first Asian batsman to score more than 700 runs in a Test series in a SENA country (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia).The center of that campaign was in Edgbaston. Gill scored 269 in the first innings — the highest Test score by an Indian captain and the highest by any Indian Test batsman outside Asia — before adding 161 in the second innings. His match tally of 430 remains the second highest by a player in a single Test, behind only Graham Gooch’s 456.India won the match by 336 runs and Gill became the first Asian captain to register a Test win at Edgbaston.Gill’s first Test captaincy ended in a 2-2 draw, but he bounced back to lead India to a clean sweep of the West Indies at home later that year. He finished the series with an unbeaten 129 in Delhi, another innings that highlighted his growing authority as captain.
IPL advantage of captaincy
Statistically, Shubman Gill’s best IPL season came in 2023 when he was not the captain, scoring 890 runs. However, he was given the captaincy of Gujarat Titans in 2024, which was his first major leadership assignment in franchise cricket.The first season was challenging as he managed to score only 426 runs in 12 innings. But by the following year, he seemed to have accepted the responsibility. Gill scored 650 runs while leading Gujarat Titans to the playoffs. He followed it up with another outstanding campaign in the 2026 IPL, scoring 732 runs in 16 innings and leading his team to the playoffs once again.Initially a rookie captain, Gill gradually became more confident, with greater clarity in his intentions and added edge to his performances.
India Tour of Australia
Shubman Gill’s first series as India’s permanent ODI captain did not go according to plan. In three innings, he managed just 43 runs as India lost the series 2-1.Thanks to the tourists, they avoided the cleanup Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who held the third and final ODI. Unlike in England, Gill struggled to adapt to Australian conditions and was unable to make a significant impact.
South Africa’s tour of India
Shubman Gill endured a difficult and injury-plagued South African tour of India in November and December 2025. His campaign was derailed by a neck injury sustained during the first Test in Kolkata, where he retired injured on the 4th and was subsequently ruled out of the rest of the Test series.He missed the second Test in Guwahati entirely.After recovering, Gill returned to the ODI series and produced mixed results, scoring 28, 11 and 50 in the three matches as he helped India secure a 2–1 series win.However, the T20I leg turned out to be one of the toughest phases of his career. Gill posted scores of 0, 0, 8 and 4 in four appearances, including back-to-back golden ducks in the first two matches. He was rested for the fifth and final T20I as India wrapped up the series 3-1.
Even after two tough series, Gill’s average and total are still ahead of the last three full-time Indian captains — Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni.Does leadership actually elevate the batsman, or did Gill simply mature at the same time he became captain?The sample is mixed. Kohli’s Test average has risen from roughly 39.5 before captaincy to 54.8 as captain. Dhoni’s numbers also improved a bit. Gill’s ascent was even steeper. However, Rohit Sharma serves as a cautionary tale, with his average dropping from 46.87 to 30.58 after taking charge.
Evidence-based captaincy often coincides with improved batting performance but does not guarantee anything. The final verdict on Gill’s captaincy era remains years away.Gill’s captaincy numbers have been impressive but come from a relatively small sample of nine Tests and a handful of ODIs. The 0-2 loss to South Africa also requires context, as he withdrew injured in the first Test and missed the second, which he captained Rishabh Pant.His return to the West Indies was boosted by an unbeaten 129 in Delhi, while the pre-captain averages of Kohli, Rohit and Dhoni are approximations rather than exact statistical cut-offs. Similarly, Gill’s ODI captaincy record remains too limited for meaningful long-term comparisons.Overall, though, the evidence suggests that the captaincy brought a more aggressive and confident version of Gill to the fore. His performances and points tally have increased since he took over.Shubman Gill scored 1,662 international runs as captain at an excellent average of 69.25, compared to the 5,476 international runs he amassed before getting the armband.
Tests
Before captaincy: 60 innings, 1893 runs, average 33.21After captaincy: 15 innings, 1076 runs, average 71.73
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Before captaincy: 55 innings, 2775 runs, average 59.04After captaincy: 8 innings, 416 runs, average 59.43
