Shubman Gill’s rise from opener to dependable leader
Shubman Gill, the face of the Indian cricket team and the man appointed captain of the Test and ODI teams, 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 players in the longer formats.In less than a month, Shubman Gill scored three centuries across different formats.He struck his maiden century against Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2 on May 29, scoring at a strike rate of 196.23. Just a week later, in the only Test against Afghanistan on 6 June, Gill scored another hundred, a patient knock that marked his 11th Test century. Then, just 10 days later in the second ODI on June 17, he produced his first century since taking over as the permanent ODI captain.
Gill smashed 22 fours and a six, and although he did not reach 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 interesting question: Was Gill already on that path before captaincy, or did captaincy open up another level in his game?With Afghanistan currently touring India for a Test and ODI series, Gill has already compiled 364 runs in just three innings on home soil at an impressive strike rate of 182.
However, this is not the first time his scoring average has risen as captain.Eighteen months ago, he averaged 35 on tests, and critics often labeled him an underachiever. India then handed him the Test and ODI captaincy, and he set about rewriting the record books.Gill’s first stint as captain came on a tour of England, where he entered the history books like no Indian captain before him. Ahead of the 2025 England tour, Gill was something of an enigma.
After 32 Tests, he averaged just 35.05 – ordinary numbers for a player of his immense talent. In fact, there is only one player in Test history with a lower average after 32 Tests, Chris Gayle, who finished with a career average above 40.
Then came the captaincy.
Across 2025, his first year as captain, Gill has scored 983 runs in nine Tests at an average of 70.21, almost double his previous mark and the steepest leap before and after any Indian captain in the modern era.
Shubman Gill outdid his idol Virat Kohli
Shubman Gill has never hidden his admiration for Virat Kohli, and the cricket world knows the standard set by Kohli as India’s Test captain. During his first major stint as Test captain after MS Dhoni stepped down in 2014, Kohli scored 692 runs in the 2014-15 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.But Jill went one better. He amassed 754 runs at an average of 75.40 over the five Tests of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, winning the Player of the Series award, surpassing Kohli’s tally.
In doing so, he became the first Asian batsman to score more than 700 runs in a Test series in a SENA country (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia).The focus of that campaign came at Edgbaston. Gill scored 269 runs in the first innings – the highest Test score by an Indian captain and the highest by any Indian batsman in a Test outside Asia – before adding 161 runs in the second innings. His match tally of 430 remains the second highest by any batsman 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 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 the series with an unbeaten 129 in Delhi, another innings that highlighted his growing authority as a captain.
IPL has the upper hand since the captain
Shubman Gill’s best IPL season statistically came in 2023 when he was not captain, scoring 890 runs.
However, he was handed the captaincy of Gujarat Titans in 2024, his first major captaincy stint in cricket.He had a difficult first season, managing just 426 runs in 12 innings. But by the following year, he seemed to have taken responsibility. Gill scored 650 runs while leading Gujarat Titans to the playoffs. He followed this up with another stellar campaign in IPL 2026, where he scored 732 runs in 16 innings and once again led his team to the playoffs.Initially a rookie captain, Gil gradually became more confident, with greater clarity in his intentions and an added edge to his performance.
India’s 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 just 43 runs as India lost the series 2-1.The tourists avoided a clean sweep thanks to Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who made 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-riddled tour of South Africa’s India in November-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 rest of the Test series.He missed the second Test in Guwahati completely.After his recovery, Gill returned to the ODI series and produced mixed returns, scoring 28, 11 and 50 runs in three matches while helping India win the series 2-1.However, the T20I phase proved to be one of the toughest phases of his career. Gill managed 0, 0, 8 and 4 scores in four games, including back-to-back Golden Ducks in the first two games. He was rested for the fifth and final match of the T20I as India wrapped up the series 3-1.
Even after two tough 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 batsman, or has Gill simply matured at the same time as he became captain?The style is mixed. Kohli’s Test average has risen from around 39.5 before the captaincy to 54.8 as captain. Dhoni’s numbers also improved marginally. Jill’s rise was steeper. However, Rohit Sharma is a cautionary example, as his average dropped from 46.87 to 30.58 after taking over.
Captaincy, on the evidence, often coincides with improved batting returns, but it guarantees nothing.
The final verdict on Gill’s leadership era is still 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 hurting in the first Test and missed the second Test, which he was captaining.
Rishabh Pant
.His revenues in the West Indies were enhanced by T.H Delhi’s unbeaten 129, while the pre-drive averages for Kohli, Rohit and Dhoni are approximations rather than exact statistical reductions.
Likewise, Gill’s ODI captaincy record remains too limited to make meaningful long-term comparisons.Overall, however, the evidence suggests that the team’s leadership brought a more aggressive and confident version of Gilles to the fore. His performances and goalscoring have increased since taking over.Shubman Gill scored 1,662 international points as captain with an impressive average of 69.25 points, compared to the 5,476 international points he amassed before taking the captaincy.
Tests
Before Captain: 60 runs, 1893 runs, average 33.21After Captain: 15 innings, 1076 runs, average 71.73
ODIs
Before Captain: 55 innings, 2775 runs, average 59.04After Captain: 8 innings, 416 runs, average 59.43
