Top 5 Test Captains with the Most Runs in Their Debut Series (Updated 2025)

Shubman Gill is currently in sensational form in the ongoing Test series against England. Across four matches, Gill has accumulated an impressive 722 runs at an average of 90.25. He has become the first Indian captain to score over 700 runs in a Test series in away conditions. Gill has already overtaken Virat Kohli to claim the record for the most runs in a debut series as Test captain for India. Sunil Gavaskar holds the record for the most runs by an Indian batter in a Test series, and Gill is on the verge of breaking that record as India prepares for the fifth Test against England.

Here are the top 5 players with the most runs in their debut series as Test captains:

Don Bradman
Don Bradman made his Test debut against England in 1928 and was appointed captain in 1936. In his debut series as captain against England, Bradman scored 810 runs in nine innings at an average of 90. He scored two double-centuries, one century, and one half-century on this tour. Australia won the five-match series by 3-2. Bradman remained the captain of the side till 1948 and scored 3147 runs in 24 matches as the captain. He scored 14 centuries as the captain of the side, which is still the fifth-highest number of centuries by an Australian captain in Test cricket.

Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill replaced Rohit Sharma as the captain of the Indian side on India’s tour of England in 2025. He scored a century in the very first innings of his captaincy stint in the first Test in Leeds. In Birmingham, he first scored a double-century in the first innings and a century in the second innings. He became only the ninth player to achieve this feat and only the second Indian after Sunil Gavaskar. In the fourth Test, Gill scored another century in the third innings. He became only the fourth Indian captain to score multiple centuries in the third innings of a Test match. Gill has made 722 runs in eight innings in the series at an average of 90.25. He is 10 runs away from equalling Gavaskar’s record of most runs by an Indian captain in a Test series. He is 78 runs away from becoming only the second batter to score over 800 runs in a Test series as a captain.

Greg Chappell
Greg Chappell captained Australia in 48 Test matches and won 21 out of them. He was the first Australian captain to win 20 Test matches for the team. Greg made his captaincy debut against the West Indies in 1975 during the West Indies tour of Australia. He scored a century in each innings of the first Test and became the fifth batter to do that. Greg was the first captain to score a century in each innings of a Test match. Chappell made 702 runs in 11 innings in the series at an average of 117. He made three centuries and three half-centuries in the series. Australia won the six-match Test series by 5-1.

Clive Lloyd
Clive Lloyd won 36 Test matches as captain in 74 Test matches. He still holds the record for most wins as the captain of the West Indies team. Lloyd made his captaincy debut against India in 1974 during the five-match series in India. The West Indies won this series by 3-2. Lloyd scored 636 runs in nine innings in the series at an average of 79.50. He made two centuries and one half-century in the series. It was the only time Lloyd scored over 500 runs in a series in his career.

Peter May
Peter May was the 10th English batter to score a century. May made his captaincy debut in 1955 against South Africa during the South Africa tour of England. May finished as the leading run-scorer in the series and amassed 582 runs in nine innings at an average of 72.75. He made two centuries and three half-centuries. May scored 3080 runs in 41 matches as the captain of the England team at an average of 54.03. He was the first English captain to score 10 centuries in Test cricket.