Shubman Gill Makes His Way to Unfortunate List Featuring Virat Kohli After Losing First Match as ODI Captain

Despite holding India's captaincy across all three formats, Shubman Gill has little leadership experience, primarily limited to leading GT in the IPL.

Shubman Gill Makes His Way to Unfortunate List Featuring Virat Kohli After Losing First Match as ODI Captain

Shubman Gill created an unwanted record after first ODI defeat as captain against Australia, matching Virat Kohli. (via India Today)

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Newly-appointed Indian ODI captain Shubman Gill put his name on an unwanted list of skippers in cricket history, after the opening ODI defeat to Australia in Perth. Gill joined batting ace and former captain Virat Kohli, who is also a part of the ODI squad in Australia, on the unfortunate list. 

Shubman Gill was named India’s new ODI captain earlier this moth, replacing Rohit Sharma. The 26-year-old young batter had already succeeded Sharma as the Test captain this year, after the latter retired from red-ball cricket. Gill did successfully lead the Indian Test side to a hard-fought 2-2 draw against England in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, followed by him vice-captaining the T20I team to the Asia Cup trophy.

During the England tour, he had also impressed fans with his remarkable batting abilities, finishing as top-run getter with 754 runs in ten innings at an average of 75.40. However, the 26-year-old also finds his name on an unwanted yet unique list of captains, who have lost their debut matches in all the three formats. Gill made it to this list after the Men in Blue suffered a seven-wicket defeat to Australia in the first ODI, in Perth.

In a rain-curtailed encounter that was reduced to 26-overs-a-side, India could only post 136/9, with Gill himself departing on an individual score of just 10 runs off 18 deliveries. The home side chased down the revised 131-run target in just 21.1 overs, thanks to a 46-run innings by captain Mitchell Marsh. Prior to the Australia defeat, Gill had already lost his first Test match by five wickets against England in Leeds.

Last year, Gill had captained the India T20I team during a five-match tour to Zimbabwe, losing the series opener in Harare by 12 runs. With these three opening defeats, he now joins countryman Virat Kohli on this unfortunate list of captains, which also includes notable names like Stephen Fleming, Brendon McCullum, Hamilton Masakadza, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mohammad Rizwan, and Jason Holder.

Nonetheless, Shubman Gill and Co. will be hoping to turn around their fortunes in the second ODI, which is set to be played at the Adelaide Oval on October 23. The team will be dependent on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to shine, after they failed in the series opener in Perth. 

Suryakumar Yadav confesses fear of losing T20I captaincy due to Shubman Gill’s rise

Indian T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav made a stunning revelation, noting that he feared he would lose his captaincy in the shortest format due to Shubman Gill’s rise. Gill now holds leadership roles across all the formats, and is moving towards becoming India’s new all-format skipper. 

Suryakumar Yadav on Shubman Gill
Suryakumar Yadav admitted that he fears Shubman Gill might replace him as Indian T20I captain. (via Hindustan Times)

Gill and Suryakumar Yadav led the Indian T20I team to the 2025 Asia Cup title. The 35-year-old, who once held the top spot on the ICC T20I Batting Rankings, and was also named the Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year twice, has been a driving force in transforming the T20I side. Yadav has turned India into a formidable force, with the team having only lost two T20Is under his leadership since 2024.

Yadav however, most recently talked about Gill’s rapid rise, given the 26-year-old has now become the face of the Indian cricket team. Yadav spoke about the bond that he shares with the young batter, but also added that he ‘fears’ him.

The 35-year-old shared that he is haunted by the fear that he might soon be replaced with Gill in T20Is, a thought that he stated has kept him motivated. Yadav said, on the Express Adda:

I am very happy for him [Shubman Gill] that he has become captain in two formats. He has done really well. I won’t lie, everyone feels that fear. But, it is the kind of fear that keeps you motivated.

Yadav’s poor batting form has raised questions of his abilities, with the veteran batter having scored only 87 runs in his last nine innings at a strike-rate of just 112.98. He has gone 13 T20I innings without scoring a half-century, and was dismissed for just a run in the 2025 Asia Cup final.

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