Shubman Gill will lead India in the two-match Test series against South Africa, which is set to start on Friday, November 14, in Kolkata. In the series opener at Eden Gardens, the 26-year-old right-handed
batter from Punjab will have a chance to break Sunil Gavaskar’s record of being the fastest Indian captain to score 1000 runs in Test cricket.
Since making his Test captaincy debut against England in Leeds on June 20, 2025, Gill has amassed a total of 946 runs in 13 innings of seven matches. If he manages to score at least 54 runs in the first innings of the Kolkata Test, then he will become the fastest Indian captain (in terms of innings) to score 1000 runs in Test cricket.
During his playing days, Gavaskar needed 15 innings to reach the 1000-run mark as Indian captain in Tests.
If Gill, who scored four centuries in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy and one against the West Indies in the Delhi Test on October 11, 2025, manages to score at least one century in the first Test against South Africa, then he will break Virat Kohli’s record of most Test centuries as Indian captain in a calendar year.
In 2017, Kohli played 10 Tests for India as captain and scored five centuries, whereas Gill has five centuries to his credit in seven Tests played so far as captain in 2025.
Most 100s for India as Test captain in a calendar year
| PLAYER | YEAR | MATCHES | 100s |
| Virat Kohli | 2017 | 10 | 5 |
| Virat Kohli | 2018 | 13 | 5 |
| Shubman Gill | 2025 | 7 | 5 |
| Virat Kohli | 2016 | 12 | 4 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 1997 | 12 | 4 |
If Gill scores two centuries in the upcoming series against South Africa then he will equal Sachin Tendulkar’s record of scoring most Test centuries in a calendar year for India. In 2010, Tendulkar played 14 Test matches for Team India and crossed the 100-run mark seven times.
Most Test centuries in a calendar year for India
| PLAYER | YEAR | MATCHES | RUNS | 100s |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 2010 | 14 | 1562 | 7 |
| Sunil Gavaskar | 1978 | 8 | 1099 | 5 |
| Shubman Gill | 2025 | 8 | 979 | 5 |
| Virat Kohli | 2017 | 10 | 1059 | 5 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 1999 | 10 | 1088 | 5 |
| Rahul Dravid | 2011 | 12 | 1145 | 5 |
| Virat Kohli | 2018 | 13 | 1322 | 5 |
| Virender Sehwag | 2010 | 14 | 1422 | 5 |
| Gundappa Viswanath | 1979 | 17 | 1388 | 5 |
| Rahul Dravid | 2002 | 16 | 1357 | 5 |
| Sunil Gavaskar | 1983 | 18 | 1310 | 5 |
The overall record of scoring the most Test centuries in a calendar year is in the name of Mohammad Yousuf. In 2009, Yousuf scored nine centuries in 19 innings of 11 Test matches for Pakistan.
If Gill manages to score at least 161 runs in the first Test then he will become first Indian and overall second Asian batter after Babar Azam to score 3000 runs in World Test Championship (WTC).
Most runs in WTC for India
| PLAYER | MATCHES | RUNS | BEST | 100/50 |
| Shubman Gill | 39 | 2839 | 269 | 10/8 |
| Rishabh Pant | 38 | 2731 | 146 | 6/16 |
| Rohit Sharma | 40 | 2716 | 212 | 9/8 |
| Virat Kohli | 46 | 2617 | 254* | 5/11 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 46 | 2505 | 175* | 5/17 |
Most runs in WTC by Asian batters
| PLAYER | TEAM | MATCHES | RUNS | BEST | AVERAGE |
| Babar Azam | Pakistan | 38 | 3129 | 196 | 47.40 |
| Shubman Gill | India | 39 | 2839 | 269 | 43.01 |
| Rishabh Pant | India | 38 | 2731 | 146 | 43.34 |
| Rohit Sharma | India | 40 | 2716 | 212 | 41.15 |
| Dimuth Karunaratne | Sri Lanka | 35 | 2642 | 244 | 40.64 |
As of now, Gill has scored a total of 2839 runs in 72 innings of 39 WTC matches for the Indian team. He is already India’s highest run getter in WTC and also holds the record of scoring most centuries in WTC.
