Is Shubman Gill Actually Better Than What Virat Kohli Was At 25? Statistical Study Explains

A Statistical comparison between Kohli and Gill [X]

Since making his debut in international cricket, Shubman Gill has gradually established himself as a vital cog in India's setup across format. The dynamic right-handed batter debuted in an ODI against New Zealand in 2019. 

Although he took a little time to cement his place, Gill has been India's mainstay since becoming Rohit Sharma's regular opening partner. 

Considering his incredible batting attributes, the Indian fans hail him as the next big thing, often comparing him with the legendary Virat Kohli. How far is this comparison justified? Let's analyse and find out. 

Shubman Gill vs Virat Kohli: Who is better at 25?

To draw a conclusion, we must compare Gill's performances to those of a 25-year-old Kohli. Virat Kohli made his debut in 2008 soon after leading India u-19 to a World Cup title. 

So, we have used his batting performances between August 18, 2008 and November 4, 2013, a day before he turned 25. 

On contrary, as Gill is 24 years and 339 days old as of today, his international record has been taken into consideration. 

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Overall record in international cricket at 25

As we can see, Virat Kohli was more consistent than Shubman Gill as a 25-year-old youngster. Despite playing in a more batting-friendly era in two formats, Gill's overall average is significantly less than Kohli's. 

Format wise splitting

Now, let's split the stats and compare the data across three formats. 

From the stats in the table above, we can see that Kohli was a better performer in Tests, while Gill averages a mere 35.52 despite scoring almost 300 more runs. 

However, the Punjab batter has much better numbers than Kohli in ODIs. But this doesn't give a true picture, considering Kohli played his majority of the ODIs in the one new ball era before turning 25. 

Furthermore, the fact that he top-scored for India in this period and played many iconic knocks, including scintillating tons in Hobart and Mirpur, makes him the winner in this round. 

Coming to the T20Is, Gill has a better strike rate than what Kohli had 10 years ago, but he is not even close to the best on the list in modern-day game. Even a 35-year-old Kohli has struck at a nearly similar rate. 

Meanwhile, Kohli was India's second-best striker (among top 5 run-getters) and one of the most efficient accumulators in T20Is at Gill's age. 

He performed admirably in the 2012 T20 World Cup, while Gill is yet to play a World Cup in the shortest format. 

Conclusion

So, considering all these factors, we reckon Virat Kohli was truly destined for greatness which he eventually achieved at a relatively young age. 

On the flip side, Shubman Gill, with all the potential he has, is a work in progress and not as good as Kohli's 25-year-old version as of yet. 

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