Credit: BCCI
Having recently been made the Test captain of the Indian national team, it could be argued, Shubman Gill is the man of the hour at this point in time.
Here’s a batsman whose reputation was first forged in white ball cricket, where he didn’t take all that long to crack a double century, not long after which he steered the noted IPL franchise Gujarat Titans to respectable feats.
In so doing, Gill’s bat began talking but the big prized catch was always Test cricket, which now finds his full focus.
Truth, therefore is, it is Test cricket where the young Shubman Gill still needs to forge a credible career in order to foster hopes of becoming a specialist batsman for a team that plays plenty of cricket all round the year.
In that sense, the forthcoming series in England becomes all the more necessary and vital for the young and promising lad from Punjab.
But before we begin to understand just how Shubman Gill has performed against England especially in England, it’s important to take note of his overall Test stats.
Shubman Gill Test Records in England
On the whole, Gill, who’ll turn 26 in the next quarter of 2025, has played 32 Tests, and 59 innings on the whole.
But here’s what is most exciting. The most number of Tests that Shubman Gill has played have come against England.
From 10 of his 32 Tests, the dogged right hander with a reputation to bat along the ground with a great skill set at playing grounded strokes, has conjured 592 runs.
And what do we have once we further break down Gill’s record?
Of the 10 games he’s played against the English, Gill has played just 1 Test match in England and that came during July 2022 at Edgbaston.
It could be argued not confronting James Anderson anymore will utterly please the man who’s perhaps expected to open the innings in England or at best come in at number three. The reason? The only Test Shubman Gill played in England saw Jimmy Anderson with his wicket on both occasions.
Overall, Shubman Gill has played three Test matches in England amassing 88 runs at an underwhelming average of 14.66.
In all, the technically correct bat has only lasts for 27 odd deliveries in England. This time, however, he’d love to get his eye in and score dollops of runs in what is a long series.
But what would most excite Shubman Gill is that he’s hit two centuries against England, one each at Vizag and Dharamsala.
So he has a fair amount of idea in handling the likes of Shoaib Bashir and Tom Hartley alongside Ben Stokes and Mark Wood.
Although the conditions he’ll come to face will be anything but familiar which was the case back in the sub continent, one could expect Gill with a cool head over his shoulders and the ability to familiarise himself with pressure to navigate the stern English challenge.
Surely, India wouldn’t mind at all the prospect of not seeing Gus Atkinson in this series who’s been ruled out.
But Archer and Wood coupled with captain Stokes and the spinners could well prod India and this will, therefore, make watching Shubman Gill every bit interesting as watching a thriller with unexpected twists and turns.
From 18 innings, Gill averages a healthy 37 and is in touching distance of 600 Test runs versus England but what he’ll be most wary of is the fact that of his 5 ducks in the format, 4 have come against England.
That’s nothing to gloat about, captain!
