What do Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli have in common? There are many. Not just the MRF logo on the bat or a stellar season in IPL, the two also share a common captaincy record. Both the New King, who was so far nicknamed as the Prince and the old King, Virat Kohli, began with losses in all three formats on captaincy debut. India’s seven-wicket loss in Perth ensured Gill three Ls on his captaincy debut. Kohli also lost all three matches across three formats as he began his captaincy stint. But the two are not alone. Stephen Fleming and Brendon McCullum of New Zealand and Mohammad Rizwan of Pakistan also faced defeats in their maiden match as captain across three formats.
On Shubman Gill’s Test captaincy debut, India lost to England by 5 wickets in Leeds. India lost the ODI against Australia on Gill’s ODI captaincy debut by 7 wickets. On his T20I captaincy debut, India lost to Zimbabwe by 13 runs. Kohli had a similar record. India lost the Test against Australia by 48 runs in 2014, the ODI to Sri Lanka by 161 runs in 2013, and the T20I to England by 7 wickets in 2017. Kohli and Gill are the only two Indian captains who began their captaincy journey with losses in all three formats.
| Captaincy Debut | Virat Kohli | Shubman Gill |
|---|---|---|
| Test captaincy debut | 13/12/2014, India lost to Australia | 20/06/2025, India lost to England |
| ODI captaincy debut | 02/07/2013, India lost to Sri Lanka | 19/10/2025, India lost to Australia |
| T20I captaincy debut | 26/01/2017, India lost to England | 06/07/2024, India lost to Zimbabwe |
Captains to lose all three matches on debut
- Stephen Fleming (New Zealand)
- Shaun Pollock (South Africa)
- Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka)
- Brendon McCullum (New Zealand)
- Hamilton Masakadza (Zimbabwe)
- Virat Kohli (India)
- Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)
- Jason Holder (West Indies)
- Shubman Gill (India)
What went wrong in Perth?
In Perth, India ended their 8-match winning streak in ODIs. In 2025, this was India’s first loss. But the blame isn’t on Gill. Under cloudy conditions, India had to bat first with Rohit Sharma coming back from a long eight-month absence. He was rusty and that showed. Gill played a poor shot while old demons haunted Virat Kohli once again.
India were reduced to 25/3 in no time. Then, rain played tricks with the Indian batters. As the match was reduced to 26 overs, the scoreboard pressure got Indian batters out in quick succession, including KL Rahul, who top-scored. With not enough runs on the board, the bowlers could not make a big impact. Australia chased down the 131-run target as per DLS method in 21.1 overs.
Shubman Gill did not shy away from admitting that powerplay batting was where India lost. India had to play catch-up as rain continued to break the rhythm.
“When you lose three wickets in the powerplay, you’re always trying to play a catch-up game. A lot of learning for us from this game and a lot of positives for us as well. We were defending 130 and we took the game, not till the very end, but pretty deep. We were very satisfied with that,” Shubman Gill said at the post-match presentation.
All eyes on Shubman Gill
Gill might have lost all the matches on his captaincy debut but that’s just a blip. He has shown that he can lead from the front. Gill was the highest scorer of the Test series against England in his first series as the captain. Even for Gujarat Titans, he led by example, scoring 426 runs, only second to Sai Sudharsan’s 526 for the side.
Under Shubman Gill’s captaincy, India have drawn a Test series in England and won a home series against the West Indies. With the 2027 World Cup still two years away, one can expect Gill to lead by example once again. His immediate challenge will be to get runs from Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who are coming back from a long break. If both get their rhythm back, the job will be easier for Gill in ODIs. In T20Is, he is yet to take over as the full-time captain. The captaincy handover will only happen after T20 World Cup 2026. Till then, Gill can enjoy the period as the batter before settling in as the captain.
