Shubman Gill vs Virat Kohli is the comparison every Indian cricket fan has an opinion on. Most comparisons line them up after the same number of matches. This one does something fairer: it compares them at the same age, on the day each player turned 27.
Kohli turned 27 on 5 November 2015. Gill turned 27 on 8 September 2026. Everything below counts only what each player had done before that birthday.
Gill vs Kohli at 27: The Short Answer
- Kohli was well ahead on volume: 34 international centuries to Gill's 21, and more than twice as many ODI runs.
- Gill was ahead on rate: an ODI average of 60.34 to Kohli's 50.60, and a strike rate of about 101 to Kohli's 90.
- Gill had the bigger scores: two double centuries (208 and 269) to Kohli's none.
- Gill got the captaincy earlier: Test captain at 25 and ODI captain at 26. Kohli led India's Test side at 26 but did not become ODI captain until he was 28.
Shubman Gill vs Virat Kohli Stats Comparison at 27
| At their 27th birthday | Virat Kohli (to 4 Nov 2015) | Shubman Gill (to 7 Sep 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| ODI innings | 158 | 66 |
| ODI runs | 6,831 | 3,379 |
| ODI average | 50.60 | 60.34 |
| ODI strike rate | about 90 | 100.96 |
| ODI hundreds / fifties | 23 / 34 | 9 / 20 |
| ODI highest score | 183 | 208 |
| Test hundreds | 11 | 11 |
| Test runs | 2,994* | 3,043 |
| Test average | 44.03* | 43.47 |
| Test highest score | 169 | 269 |
| T20I hundreds | 0 | 1 (126*) |
| International hundreds | 34 | 21 |
| Double centuries | 0 | 2 |
**Kohli's Test runs and average are to the end of 2015, so they include four home Tests against South Africa that began on his 27th birthday. He scored no hundred in that series, so his Test century count at 27 is exactly 11. Kohli's ODI figures are exact: he played no ODIs between 25 October 2015 and January 2016.*
Virat Kohli's Record at Age 27
Kohli made his ODI debut in August 2008, aged 19, and by 2010 he was a regular in India's one-day side. That early start is the single biggest reason for his lead. By his 27th birthday he had batted 158 times in ODIs, scoring 6,831 runs with 23 hundreds. Two months later, in January 2016, he became the fastest player to 7,000 ODI runs, in his 161st innings.
His Test career started later, in 2011, but grew quickly: 11 Test hundreds by 27, including 169 at the MCG in December 2014. In T20Is he had already become the fastest batter to 1,000 runs (in his 27th innings, October 2015), though he had not yet scored a T20I hundred.
Shubman Gill's Record at Age 27
Gill also made his ODI debut at 19, against New Zealand in January 2019. But he did not become a regular until 2022, and India now play fewer ODIs than they did in Kohli's early years. So at 27 he had 66 ODI innings, well under half of Kohli's 158.
What he did with those innings stands out: 3,379 runs at 60.34, scoring faster than a run a ball, with 9 hundreds, including 208 against New Zealand in Hyderabad. He is also the fastest player in history to 2,000 ODI runs, in 38 innings.
In Tests he had 11 hundreds, the same as Kohli at the same age, including 269 at Edgbaston in 2025, the highest Test score by an Indian captain. In T20Is he had 126* against New Zealand in Ahmedabad (2023).
Gill vs Kohli Centuries at 27
Per innings, the gap is much smaller than the totals suggest.
- ODIs: Kohli scored a hundred about every 6.9 innings (23 in 158). Gill scored one about every 7.3 innings (9 in 66).
- Tests: both had 11 hundreds at 27.
- T20Is: Gill 1, Kohli 0.
So Kohli's 34 to 21 lead comes mostly from having played many more ODIs, not from converting starts more often. Gill has since added two more ODI hundreds, 110 and 223* against West Indies in September 2026. The 223* reached 200 in 117 balls, the fastest double century in ODI history.
Captaincy at 27: Gill vs Kohli
| Virat Kohli | Shubman Gill | |
|---|---|---|
| First Test as India captain | December 2014, aged 26 (Adelaide) | Named captain May 2025, aged 25 |
| India ODI captain | From January 2017, aged 28 | Named October 2025, aged 26 |
By 27, Gill was leading India in two formats, plus Gujarat Titans in the IPL. Kohli at 27 was India's Test captain and had just won his first series in charge, in Sri Lanka in August 2015. For Gill's full results as captain, see our captaincy record page.
Who Was Better at 27?
There is no single answer, and anyone who tells you otherwise is picking the stat that suits them.
- If you value volume and consistency over time, Kohli at 27 was ahead. He had been an India regular for five years and already had 34 international hundreds.
- If you value efficiency and peak scores, Gill at 27 was ahead. Higher ODI average, faster scoring, and two double centuries.
The fairest reading: Kohli built a bigger body of work earlier; Gill has done more with fewer chances. Kohli's best years were still ahead of him at 27: his first double century came eight months later, and his run-scoring peaked in 2016-2018. Whether Gill can find a similar gear in his late twenties is the question that will settle this comparison.
Key Takeaways
- At 27, Kohli had 34 international hundreds, Gill had 21.
- Both had 11 Test hundreds at 27.
- Gill's ODI average (60.34) and strike rate (about 101) were higher than Kohli's at the same age (50.60, about 90).
- Gill had two double centuries by 27; Kohli's first came in July 2016, after his 27th birthday.
- Gill was named Test captain at 25 and ODI captain at 26; Kohli became ODI captain at 28.
For Gill's latest numbers, see the full career stats page and the complete list of his centuries.
*How we counted: Gill's figures come from Cricsheet ball-by-ball data, cross-checked against published career profiles. Kohli's are built from his year-by-year records and his official century list. Kohli's ODI strike rate is worked out from his yearly figures, so we round it to "about 90". theshubmangill.com is an independent fan site, not affiliated with Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli or the BCCI.*