Still only 25 years old, Shubman Gill's ODI record is already one to envy. How does he stack up among the greats of the game at the same age?
Gill's latest run of form has been stunning. His last four ODI appearances have seen him register scores of 87, 60, 112 and 101* – with the most recent one a superb, mature knock to take India over the line against Bangladesh in the Champions Trophy. That isn't even his most prolific run of scores – in January 2023, Gill reeled off 116, 208, 40* and 112 in consecutive innings.
Match 2, Bangladesh vs India
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Against England earlier this month, he became the fastest player ever to reach 2,500 ODI runs, getting to the mark in just 50 innings to beat South Africa great Hashim Amla by one.
It's almost frightening to think what Gill could achieve in this format with the start he's had so far. But how does this measure against ODI cricket's other batting legends?
Quantity is hard to come by, but Gill is utterly prolific
For sheer volume of runs, Gill is already in rarefied air. Only 40 batters in men's ODI cricket have managed to score 2,500 runs by the age of 25, like he has. Crucially though, he has done so despite playing just 51 innings (a few more will be added to this) – the fewest of any player on this list. Shai Hope is a distant next-least, with 63 innings.
Also read: Shubman Gill could break every ODI batting record, if only he had the chance
His tally of 2,688 runs so far will increase slightly before his next birthday, but will still be nowhere close to the 7,801 that Sachin Tendulkar managed aged 25 or below – a product of playing a massive 204 innings by this age.
As far as batting average is concerned, Gill is streets ahead of the competition. Among the 40 who have managed 2500 runs by this age, his average of 62.5 is a full eight points higher than Babar Azam's 54.2.
Gill's strike rate of 100.8 as it stands makes him one of just two players to score over 2,500 ODI runs at better than a run-a-ball at this age. Shahid Afridi is the other, but the price for Afridi's strike rate (108.51) was a significantly lower batting average – just 23.97.
Shubman Gill has made an all-time great start to his ODI career
Virtually no one in the history of ODI cricket has managed to score as prolifically as Gill, at this age. Even accounting for some significant difference between eras of the game, he would still likely occupy a top three or five spot at least.
In fact, put Gill's start to his ODI career up against the top ten run-scorers in the game, and the difference is startling. The last point at which he was behind any of these greats was after eight innings, when Gill had 369 ODI runs, and Inzamam-ul-Haq had 447. Since then, after each innings – from his ninth to his 51st – Gill has had the highest run tally of any of them.
After 51 innings, the closest any of these players was Virat Kohli, who had 1,954 runs to Gill's 2,688 – more than 700 behind.
Going big – how does Gill compare?
In his 51 innings so far, Gill has eight centuries, and 15 more half-centuries – which doesn't instantly catch the eye. By the same age, Tendulkar had 21 centuries, and Kohli 20. Chris Gayle and Babar Azam also had 11 each.
Gill's conversion rate of fifties to hundreds, 34.8 per cent, is among the best of those to score 2,500 runs by age 25. Only Kohli, Babar, Quinton de Kock and Salman Butt managed better ratios, as highlighted below.
But once again, there is a measure that Gill tops; the frequency of his fifty-plus scores. Of all the 40 batters here, he has registered a score over fifty more frequently than anyone else – every 2.2 innings, on average (this can still drop). He is also one of only three players aged 25 or under to score an ODI double century. Pathum Nissanka and compatriot Ishan Kishan are the other two.
Players who score half-centuries most frequently in men's ODIs
| Player | Team(s) | Innings | Runs | Avg | SR | 50s | 100s | 50 to 100 Conversion Rate | Inns per 50-plus score |
| Shubman Gill | IND | 51 | 2688 | 62.5 | 100.8 | 15 | 8 | 34.8 | 2.2 |
| V Kohli | IND | 134 | 5901 | 51.3 | 89.9 | 31 | 20 | 39.2 | 2.6 |
| KS Williamson | NZ | 87 | 3666 | 47.0 | 84.0 | 25 | 7 | 21.9 | 2.7 |
| BC Lara | WI | 83 | 3313 | 43.6 | 73.6 | 25 | 5 | 16.7 | 2.8 |
| Babar Azam | PAK | 72 | 3359 | 54.2 | 87.1 | 15 | 11 | 42.3 | 2.8 |
| JE Root | ENG | 73 | 3017 | 45.7 | 85.5 | 17 | 8 | 32.0 | 2.9 |
| SD Hope | WI | 63 | 2676 | 48.7 | 74.0 | 14 | 6 | 30.0 | 3.2 |
| SR Tendulkar | IND | 204 | 7801 | 42.4 | 86.6 | 43 | 21 | 32.8 | 3.2 |
| Q de Kock | SA | 98 | 4133 | 44.4 | 94.3 | 17 | 13 | 43.3 | 3.3 |
| JH Kallis | SA | 128 | 4610 | 43.9 | 68.7 | 32 | 7 | 17.9 | 3.3 |
| SC Ganguly | IND | 66 | 2503 | 40.4 | 69.3 | 16 | 4 | 20.0 | 3.3 |
| Inzamam-ul-Haq | PAK | 95 | 3347 | 41.3 | 74.5 | 24 | 4 | 14.3 | 3.4 |
| CH Gayle | ICC/WI | 118 | 4362 | 38.9 | 78.8 | 23 | 11 | 32.4 | 3.5 |
| Salman Butt | PAK | 78 | 2725 | 36.8 | 76.3 | 14 | 8 | 36.4 | 3.5 |
| RR Sarwan | WI | 96 | 3465 | 46.8 | 77.4 | 23 | 3 | 11.5 | 3.7 |
| AB de Villiers | Afr/SA | 89 | 3092 | 39.6 | 86.7 | 20 | 4 | 16.7 | 3.7 |
| MJ Clarke | AUS | 93 | 3134 | 44.1 | 82.8 | 23 | 2 | 8.0 | 3.7 |
| GC Smith | Afr/SA | 98 | 3540 | 38.1 | 78.9 | 20 | 6 | 23.1 | 3.8 |
| EJG Morgan | ENG/IRE | 81 | 2605 | 40.7 | 85.0 | 17 | 4 | 19.0 | 3.9 |
| Shakib Al Hasan | BAN | 121 | 3635 | 35.6 | 78.1 | 25 | 5 | 16.7 | 4.0 |
| WU Tharanga | Asia/SL | 105 | 3363 | 33.3 | 72.9 | 18 | 8 | 30.8 | 4.0 |
| RT Ponting | AUS | 105 | 3718 | 40.0 | 72.5 | 20 | 6 | 23.1 | 4.0 |
| Ahmed Shehzad | PAK | 81 | 2605 | 32.6 | 72.1 | 14 | 6 | 30.0 | 4.1 |
| BRM Taylor | ZIM | 129 | 4043 | 34.9 | 72.0 | 25 | 6 | 19.4 | 4.2 |
| Yuvraj Singh | Asia/IND | 177 | 5573 | 36.9 | 86.6 | 34 | 8 | 19.0 | 4.2 |
| Tamim Iqbal | BAN | 140 | 4125 | 29.7 | 77.5 | 28 | 4 | 12.5 | 4.4 |
| Shoaib Malik | PAK | 138 | 4142 | 34.2 | 78.2 | 26 | 5 | 16.1 | 4.5 |
| Umar Akmal | PAK | 100 | 2913 | 34.7 | 86.1 | 20 | 2 | 9.1 | 4.5 |
| Younis Khan | PAK | 92 | 2508 | 31.7 | 70.9 | 19 | 0 | 0.0 | 4.8 |
| SK Raina | IND | 131 | 3699 | 35.6 | 93.7 | 24 | 3 | 11.1 | 4.9 |
| V Sehwag | IND | 100 | 3008 | 32.0 | 94.6 | 14 | 6 | 30.0 | 5.0 |
| S Chanderpaul | WI | 86 | 2645 | 34.4 | 66.8 | 15 | 2 | 11.8 | 5.1 |
| SP Fleming | NZ | 97 | 2848 | 32.4 | 72.2 | 16 | 3 | 15.8 | 5.1 |
| M Kaif | IND | 110 | 2753 | 32.0 | 72.0 | 17 | 2 | 10.5 | 5.8 |
| DPMD Jayawardene | SL | 135 | 3669 | 29.8 | 73.0 | 17 | 6 | 26.1 | 5.9 |
| CD McMillan | NZ | 114 | 2933 | 27.2 | 72.6 | 16 | 2 | 11.1 | 6.3 |
| Mohammad Ashraful | Asia/BAN | 154 | 3327 | 23.6 | 71.0 | 20 | 3 | 13.0 | 6.7 |
| Shahid Afridi | Asia/ICC/PAK | 210 | 4819 | 24.0 | 108.5 | 26 | 4 | 13.3 | 7.0 |
| Abdul Razzaq | Asia/PAK | 170 | 3880 | 30.1 | 79.7 | 19 | 2 | 9.5 | 8.1 |
| E Chigumbura | Afr/ZIM | 133 | 2837 | 23.8 | 83.1 | 14 | 0 | 0.0 | 9.5 |
By virtually every possible metric, Gill stacks up as one of the best (if not the best) batter of his age in all of ODI history. The rapidly dwindling number of ODIs played worldwide mean he may not be able to enjoy as long a career as many who came before him, but one can take solace in the fact that the ride is sure to be an exciting one.
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