Ahead of the India tour of England Test series, which starts on 20 June 2025, the focus is on both captains. Shubman Gill and Ben Stokes embody contrasting eras and temperaments in red-ball cricket. Stokes, at 33, is England’s all-round leader and the face of the aggressive ‘Bazball’ approach. Gill, seven years junior, represents a new beginning for India’s Test squad following the retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
Despite the gap in age and experience, Gill has already forged a phenomenal career in Test cricket to rival Ben Stokes’ record. A calm and composed player, compared to Stokes’ fiery approach, Gill has been entrusted to lead India’s Test squad in the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle.
Let’s have a detailed look at Ben Stokes and Shubman Gill’s red-ball careers, including their statistics as captains and batters.
Ben Stokes Test Records In Full
Ben Stokes has transformed himself into one of the, if not the, best batters in Test cricket at the moment. He has played 111 Test matches since making his debut in 2013, scoring an astonishing 6728 runs at an average of 35.41. Along the way, he has struck 13 centuries and 35 fifties.
His record on home turf is even better, averaging nearly 40 with eight centuries, including a record-breaking 24-ball half-century against the West Indies at Edgbaston last year. India has been a favourable opponent for Stokes, with the English batter scoring 972 runs in 21 matches against the Men in Blue – his fourth-best record against any Test-playing nation.
As a captain, Stokes has led the Three Lions in 33 matches since 2022, posting a win rate of 62.5% with 20 victories against 12 losses. Interestingly, he has overseen just one drawn Test match.
Adding to all these capabilities, Stokes is a handy seam-bowler as well, taking 213 wickets in 162 innings, with best figures of 6/22 against West Indies in 2017.
Shubman Gill Test Records In Full
In contrast to Stokes’ records, 25-year-old Gill’s Test journey spans just 32 matches. In that short span, he has scored 1893 runs at an average of 35.05, including five hundreds and seven fifties. However, most of Gill’s Test exploits have come at home, scoring 760 runs in India in 2024 alone.
His record at England, meanwhile, is extremely poor at the moment, with an average of 14.66, scoring just 88 runs in three matches. Interestingly, 48 of those runs came from boundaries, which shows that Gill’s aggressive style of batting has not worked on English soil yet.
The youngster will have to pick up the pace quickly, as he will not only anchor India’s No. 3 position in the batting order, but also lead the entire squad as a first-time skipper. He will be replacing Rohit Sharma, which is not an easy shoe to fill, and that too, up against a seasoned opponent like Ben Stokes.
