Average difference of nearly 50: How captaincy has transformed Gill's Test career

Anurag Dasgupta

Gill's Test revival after captaincy [Source: AFP Photo] Gill's Test revival after captaincy [Source: AFP Photo]

With Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retired from Tests, Team India needed a new superstar to carry forward the mantle, and they found the gem in Shubman Gill, the Test skipper of the team. Before his Test captaincy appointment, his red-ball career was languishing, but in the last few months, there has been a huge turnaround.

Before he became the Indian Test captain, Gill had average numbers in Tests, but perhaps the captaincy burden has brought the best out of him, and the numbers tell the entire story as the world is suddenly witnessing Gill, 2.0 in whites.

Shubman Gill's Test record before captaincy

Criterion
Data
Innings
59
Runs1893
Average35.1
Hundreds5

(Gill stats before Test captaincy)

  • For someone who was touted as the future of Indian cricket, Gill had mediocre stats before he got the captaincy armband, and the numbers don’t lie. An average of 35 and just 1893 runs defined his slow start to his red-ball journey.
  • Interestingly, he had a bright start to his career, helping India to a famous Test series win, Down Under, as he slammed a brilliant 91 to help India win the Gabba Test. However, since then, his career in whites went downhill, until he was given the leadership role.

Shubman Gill's Test record after captaincy

Criterion
Data
Innings
12
Runs933
Average84.8
Hundreds5

(Gill record after captaincy)

  • It is as if Gill changed 360 degrees after getting the Test captaincy from Rohit Sharma. Before his leadership role, the Indian batter had 5 Test tons in 59 innings, and in only 12 innings as the captain, he has equalled the same record (5 tons).
  • The numbers are Bradmanesque as the captain has a staggering average of 84.8, and has almost racked up 1000 runs inside 7 Tests. He slammed four centuries in his first away Test tour as captain, and continued the same form in the West Indies series.

Gill going the Virat Kohli way?

It is as if history is repeating itself. Gill idolises Virat Kohli, and just like Gill, the former India captain had a slow start to his Test journey, and before he got the captaincy armband from MS Dhoni, Kohli was touted as a promising Test batter.

However, after getting the leadership role, he churned out astonishing numbers, producing 21 Test hundreds as the captain of the Indian team. Out of his 30 tons, 21 came under his own leadership. Gill is following the same direction as he already has five hundreds as the leader of the side, and if he continues to dominate, the youngster could one day emulate, or even surpass, Kohli.