Shubman Gill to Virat Kohli: Top Test knocks by Indian players on captaincy debut

Shubman Gill

Shubman Gill became the fifth Indian to register a century on his Test captaincy debut, scoring 147 runs. Topping the list is Vijay Hazare, who remained unbeaten on 164 against England in the 1951 Delhi Test.

Shubman Gill sits in the second position

Shubman Gill sits in the second spot on the elite list of Indian captains with the highest scores on Test captaincy debut. The right-hander was unbeaten on 125 at the close of Day 1 and went on to add 22 more runs on the second day before being dismissed for 147. In addition to Gill, both Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal also notched centuries during India’s first innings.

Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar ranks third on the elite list of Indian captains with the highest scores on their Test captaincy debut. The Little Master scored 116 in the Auckland Test in 1976. India began their campaign under Gavaskar with an impressive 8-wicket victory. The three-match series eventually ended in a 1-1 draw.

Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli made his Test captaincy debut as a stand-in during the opening match of the 2014/15 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He began the series with an impressive 115 in Adelaide. Following MS Dhoni’s retirement after the third Test, Kohli took over the leadership once again in the fourth match. Throughout the series, he showcased exceptional form, scoring a century in each of the four Tests.

Dilip Vengsarkar

Dilip Vengsarkar made his Test captaincy debut against West Indies in 1987. After being dismissed for just 10 runs in the first innings, Dilip bounced back with a century, scoring 102 in the second innings. Despite his effort, India lost the match by 5 wickets. Dilip led the Indian Test team for two years, securing 2 wins in 10 matches as captain.