India’s new Test captain Shubman Gill wowed the world again with another scintillating century in the second innings of the second Test against England at Edgbaston. After a remarkable knock of 161, former India Test captain and legendary cricketer Virat Kohli could not help but react to Gill’s sensational knock. Gill amassed 430 runs across both innings of the match, helping India set a daunting target of 608 for England to chase down. Kohli labelled Gill a “star boy” on Instagram.
“Well played star boy. Rewriting history. Onwards and upwards from here. You deserve all of this,” wrote Kohli, in a post on his Instagram story.
Virat Kohli’s Instagram story for Shubman Gill pic.twitter.com/adS1P5dMoU
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) July 5, 2025
Gill had smashed the highest-ever score by an Indian Test captain in an individual innings when he scored 269 in the first innings of the Test, surpassing a record previously held by Kohli.
In the second innings, en route to his 161, Gill surpassed another record of Kohli’s. Gill overtook Kohli by having scored the most runs by an Indian captain in their debut series as captain.
Gill has already piled up a mammoth 585 runs in the ongoing India-England Test series, after just two Tests, making him by far and away the highest run-scorer of the series.
Kohli, who retired from Test cricket during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season, had invited Gill, vice-captain Rishabh Pant and a few others to his home in London just a few days ahead of the first Test at Headingley.
It is not a strange sight to see Kohli praising Gill on social media. After a century by Gill in IPL 2023, Kohli had posted the following on social media:
“There is potential and then there’s Gill. Go on and lead the next generation. God bless you.”
Kohli, meanwhile, is away from international cricket for the time being, now being active only in the ODI format. He is next scheduled to play for India in October.
