Think captaincy would be detrimental to Shubman Gill? Think again! The 25-year-old did not just deal with the pressure of captaincy in India’s first Test match; he crushed it. July 2025 will always be remembered as the month that Gill batted like a possessed individual, broke records galore, and won his fourth ICC Men’s Player of the Month award. With calm precision, Gill steered the ship to an electrifying 2-2 stalemate against England, leaving no room for dull moments.
From ‘Promising Talent’ to ‘Record-Breaking Skipper’
Gill’s rise from a guy with “potential” to a guy smoking record books was swift, but July turned it all up a notch. In 3 Tests that month, he smashed 567 runs at a ridiculous average of 94.50—and that included a double hundred and two hundreds.
It was at Edgbaston that he produced his pièce de résistance, converting 95/2 into an astonishing 269, before backing that up with yet another 161 in the second innings. That match haul of an almighty 430 runs? Just one legend ahead—Graham Gooch’s 456 remains the Everest this record nearly scaled. Oh, and he also became the first Indian captain to score a Test double hundred in England, and we should not forget he broke Sachin Tendulkar’s overseas record, which stood for 21 years.
But it wasn’t just the numbers – it was the way he played. Coolness under pressure, being ruthless when set, being able to be ahead of the game and the opposition bowlers, every ball.
Captain Cool Meets Comeback King
Edgbaston was all about domination; Old Trafford was only about survival. Facing 311, India’s fragile start was brutal—two early wickets and no runs, turning the chase into a cliffhanger instantly. Gill came in at No.4, cool as ice. Not worried about the score, throwing cold water on his team (scored 103 not out), Gill helped India draw the match and keep the series alive.
That innings epitomised Gill’s leadership style – steady the ship in the thick of it. Gill did not just score runs; he scored them when it counted most. For Gill’s inaugural series as leader, it couldn’t have been better. He finished the five-test war with 754 runs in the series at 75.40 – to record the second-highest runs scored in a World Test Championship series.
Why This Award Hits Different
This isn’t Gill’s first ICC Player of the Month trophy; it’s his fourth and the only male cricketer to have four. But this is special. It was awarded in the context of his debut Test captaincy, as captain of India in England, under arguably some of the toughest away conditions for an Indian batter on the first day of a Test.
It’s also a statement: Gill is not only India’s batting linchpin over the next ten years—he could also be India’s long-term Test captain. If July 2025 is anything to go by, we may just be witnessing the early chapters of a storied career.
Shubman Gill’s July was the perfect confluence of leadership, resilience, and outrageous batting brilliance. From rewriting records to pulling India from the jaws of crisis, he has demonstrated that he is ready for the big stage—both as a player and as captain.
So the big question is: given the form and confidence he is in, how long will he be able to wait before he leads the Indian team to their next ICC trophy?
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