Rohit Sharma vs Shubman Gill - comparing their stats in Test cricket before being named captain

Shubman Gill has been named India's new Test captain for the upcoming tour of England. India will play a five-match Test series against England in June this year. The series marks the beginning of the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle and a new era for the Indian team in Test cricket.

Rohit Sharma, who was India's last full-time Test captain, recently announced his retirement after a poor Australia tour, both as skipper and with the bat. This was followed by the retirement of Virat Kohli from the format as well, leading to the selectors picking Shubman Gill as the new Test captain.

Rohit took over as Test captain from Kohli in 2022, leading for the first time against Sri Lanka. With captaincy coming towards the latter half of his career, Rohit had a short stint, leading in just 24 Tests, with 12 wins, nine defeats, and three draws, finishing with a win percentage of 50.

Now taking over from Rohit, Shubman Gill steps into a new and important role, with the responsibility of upholding the legacy of the Indian Test team, which has been dominant in the past decade.

That said, let us compare the batting stats of Rohit and Gill in Test cricket before being named captain.

---

Rohit Sharma vs Shubman Gill comparison before being named Test captain

#1 Most runs

Rohit Sharma made his Test debut in 2013 against the West Indies at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata. He announced himself in style, smashing 177 on debut in the first innings. He captained for the first time in 2022 and played 43 Tests between the two games, scoring 3047 runs from 74 innings.

On the other hand, Shubman Gill has played 32 Tests so far. His 33rd Test will be his first as captain. Gill has played 59 innings and has made 1893 runs. While Rohit is clearly ahead in terms of runs scored, it is also to be noted that he played 11 Tests and 15 innings more.

Player	Matches	Innings	Runs
Rohit Sharma	43	74	3047
Shubman Gill	32	59	1893

---

#2 Average & Strike rate

Rohit Sharma finished his Test career with an average of 40.57 and a strike-rate of 57.05 from 67 matches. Before captaining the team, Rohit had an average of 46.88 and a strike-rate of 55.47 from 43 Tests.

Meanwhile, Shubman Gill, who has featured in 32 Tests for India so far, has scored his runs at an average of 35.05 and a strike-rate of 59.92.

Rohit had a way better average while Gill has a marginally better strike-rate, even with the significant difference in the number of matches and innings played, highlighting the former's consistency.

Player	Matches	Average	Strike-rate
Rohit Sharma	43	46.88	55.47
Shubman Gill	32	35.05	59.92

---

#3 Most 50+ scores in a winning cause

Rohit Sharma notched up 12 hundreds and 18 fifties in his entire Test career. All of his hundreds came in wins, while nine fifties came in a winning cause. In his 43 Tests before captaincy, Rohit made 14 half-centuries and eight hundreds. Out of these, eight half-centuries came in wins, along with his eight tons.

Shubman Gill, in his 32 Tests, has five hundreds and seven half-centuries to his name. Four hundreds and three fifties out of these have come in a winning cause.

Player	Matches	Total runs	Runs in a winning cause	50/100 in wins	Total 50+ scores in a winning cause
Rohit Sharma	43	3047	2175	8/8	16
Shubman Gill	32	1893	1111	3/4	7

---

#4 Home and Away record

Rohit Sharma played 34 Tests at home and 33 Tests away in his entire career. He scored 2535 runs at home while making 1766 runs away. Before he became Test captain, Rohit had played 18 Tests at home and 25 Tests away, scoring 1670 and 1387 runs, respectively. He scored six fifties and seven hundreds at home, with eight fifties and one century away.

Shubman Gill has played 17 Tests at home and 15 Tests away. He has 1177 runs at home with four hundreds and five half-centuries. Gill has made 716 runs away, including a hundred and two half-centuries.

Player	Matches	Home/Away matches	Home/Away runs	50/100 at home	50/100 away
Rohit Sharma	43	19/25	1670/1387	6/7	8/1
Shuman Gill	32	17/15	1177/716	5/4	2/1