Shubman Gill, the face of the Indian cricket team and the man appointed captain of both the Test and ODI sides, has clearly justified the BCCI’s decision. Since taking over the captaincy, Gill has transformed himself from a promising opener into one of India’s most dependable batters in the longer formats.In less than a month, Shubman Gill has already scored three centuries across different formats.He first struck a century against Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2 on May 29, scoring at a strike rate of 196.23. Just a week later, in the one-off Test against Afghanistan on June 6, Gill registered another hundred, a patient knock that marked his 11th Test century. Then, only 10 days later in the second ODI on June 17, he produced his first century since taking over as permanent ODI captain. Gill smashed 22 fours and two sixes, and although he fell short of a double century, he anchored India to a massive total of 402 and sealed the series victory.All three centuries came as captain, raising an intriguing question: was Gill already on this trajectory before leadership, or has captaincy unlocked another level in his game?With Afghanistan currently touring India for a Test and ODI series, Gill has already amassed 364 runs in just three innings on home soil at a staggering strike rate of 182. However, this is not the first time his scoring rate has surged as captain.Eighteen months ago, he was a batter averaging 35 in Tests, often labelled by critics as a serial under-achiever. Then India handed him the Test and ODI captaincy, and he began rewriting the record books.Gill’s first assignment as captain came on the tour of England, where he entered the history books like no Indian captain before him. Prior to the 2025 England tour, Gill was something of a puzzle. After 32 Tests, he averaged just 35.05 — ordinary numbers for a player of his immense talent. In fact, only one player in Test history with a lower average after 32 Tests, Chris Gayle, went on to finish with a career average above 40.
Then came the armband.
Across 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 before-and-after jump of 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 the standard Kohli set as India’s Test captain. During his first major assignment as Test captain after MS Dhoni stepped down in 2014, Kohli scored 692 runs in the 2014-15 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.Gill, however, went one better. He amassed 754 runs at an average of 75.40 during the five-Test Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, won the Player of the Series award, and surpassed Kohli’s tally. In doing so, he became the first Asian batter to score more than 700 runs in a Test series in a SENA country (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia).The centrepiece of that campaign came at Edgbaston. Gill scored 269 in the first innings — the highest Test score by an Indian captain and the highest by any Indian batter in a Test outside Asia — before adding 161 in the second innings. His match aggregate of 430 remains the second-highest by any batter 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 victory at Edgbaston.Gill’s first Test captaincy assignment ended in a 2-2 draw, but he bounced back by leading India to a clean sweep over the West Indies at home later that year. He capped off the series with an unbeaten 129 in Delhi, another innings that highlighted his growing authority as captain.
IPL Upper Hand Since Captaincy
Shubman Gill’s best IPL season statistically came in 2023 when he was not captain, scoring 890 runs. However, he was handed the Gujarat Titans captaincy in 2024, his first major leadership assignment in franchise cricket.The first season was challenging, as he managed only 426 runs in 12 innings. But by the following year, he appeared to have embraced the responsibility. Gill scored 650 runs while leading Gujarat Titans to the playoffs. He followed that with another outstanding campaign in IPL 2026, scoring 732 runs in 16 innings and once again guiding his side to the playoffs.A rookie captain at first, Gill gradually became more assured, with greater clarity in his intent and an 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. Across three innings, he managed only 43 runs as India lost the series 2-1.The tourists avoided a clean sweep thanks to Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who delivered in the third and final ODI. Unlike England, Gill struggled to adapt to Australian conditions and was unable to make a significant impact.
South Africa Tour of India
Shubman Gill endured a difficult and injury-hit South Africa tour of India in November and December 2025. His campaign was disrupted by a neck injury sustained during the first Test in Kolkata, where he retired hurt on 4 and was subsequently ruled out of the remainder of the Test series.He missed the second Test in Guwahati entirely.After recovering, Gill returned for the ODI series and produced mixed returns, scoring 28, 11 and 50 across three matches while helping India secure a 2-1 series victory.However, the T20I leg proved to be one of the toughest phases of his career. Gill managed scores of 0, 0, 8 and 4 in four appearances, including consecutive golden ducks in the opening two matches. He was rested for the fifth and final T20I as India wrapped up the series 3-1.
Even after two difficult series, Gill’s average and overall numbers remain ahead of India’s last three full-time captains — Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni.Does leadership actually elevate a batter, or has Gill simply matured at the same time he became captain?The pattern is mixed. Kohli’s Test average rose from roughly 39.5 before captaincy to 54.8 as captain. Dhoni’s numbers also improved marginally. Gill’s rise has been even steeper. However, Rohit Sharma serves as a cautionary example, with his average dropping from 46.87 to 30.58 after taking charge.
Captaincy, based on the evidence, often coincides with improved batting returns, but it guarantees nothing. The final verdict on Gill’s captaincy era remains years away.Gill’s captaincy numbers have been impressive, but they come from a relatively small sample of nine Tests and a handful of ODIs. The 0-2 defeat to South Africa also requires context, as he retired hurt in the first Test and missed the second, which was captained by Rishabh Pant.His West Indies returns were boosted by an unbeaten 129 in Delhi, while the pre-captaincy averages of Kohli, Rohit and Dhoni are approximate estimates rather than exact statistical cuts. Similarly, Gill’s ODI captaincy record remains too limited for meaningful long-term comparisons.Yet, taken as a whole, the evidence suggests captaincy has brought a more aggressive and assured version of Gill to the forefront. His performances and run-scoring have surged since taking charge.Shubman Gill has scored 1,662 international runs as captain at an outstanding average of 69.25, compared to the 5,476 international runs he accumulated before receiving the armband.
Tests
Before captaincy: 60 innings, 1,893 runs, average 33.21After captaincy: 15 innings, 1,076 runs, average 71.73
ODIs
Before captaincy: 55 innings, 2,775 runs, average 59.04After captaincy: 8 innings, 416 runs, average 59.43
