From the heart of New Delhi, a spectacular performance unfolded as Shubman Gill, the young sensation of Indian cricket, continued his remarkable journey in Test matches. On the second day of the second Test against the West Indies at the iconic Arun Jaitley Stadium, Gill notched up his impressive 10th Test century. This milestone also marks his fifth century since taking over the captaincy from Rohit Sharma earlier this year, showcasing his burgeoning leadership and exceptional form at just 23 years old.
This latest achievement catapults Gill into an exclusive club of cricketing legends. He has remarkably scored five centuries as India’s Test captain in a mere 12 innings, making him the second-fastest Indian skipper to reach this incredible benchmark. Only the revered Sunil Gavaskar has achieved this feat quicker, doing so in just 10 innings, while the modern titan Virat Kohli took 18 innings. On a global scale, only England’s Alastair Cook (9 innings) and Gavaskar have reached five Test centuries as captain in fewer innings than Gill, underscoring the young Indian’s exceptional talent and rapid rise.
Furthermore, Gill has joined an elite pantheon of Indian captains by scoring five Test centuries within a single calendar year. This remarkable feat was previously accomplished only by Virat Kohli, who achieved it in both 2017 and 2018, highlighting Gill’s consistent high performance.
The 2025 season has been nothing short of sensational for Gill. With five centuries already in just 12 innings, he stands shoulder-to-shoulder with cricketing stalwarts like Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar. To put his achievement in perspective: Kohli reached five hundreds in 16 innings in 2017 and 24 in 2018, while Tendulkar managed four in 17 innings back in 1997, solidifying Gill’s position among the sport’s all-time greats.
Since embracing the captain’s armband, Gill’s leadership has been perfectly complemented by his bat. His inaugural century as India’s Test captain came during the Leeds Test, a commanding 147 runs. This was followed by an extraordinary 269 in Birmingham and a fluent 161 in the second innings of the same match. He capped these performances with another brilliant 103 in Manchester, consistently demonstrating his class and ability to perform under varied conditions.