Shubman Gill, India’s new Test captain, has a long history with CEAT, dating back to his time with the Indian Under-19 team. However, earlier this year, he inked a bat sponsorship contract with MRF, a company that has previously sponsored some of India’s most famous cricketers.
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli, the former India captain, has been using MRF bats since 2014. The Delhi batsman utilised a BDM Dynamic bat throughout his Under-19 career and even for his international debut in 2008. He worked for Nike from 2009 to 2013, before joining MRF. Kohli still uses MRF stickers on his bat.
Shubman used the MRF-stickered bat for the first time in the 2025 Champions Trophy semi-finals against India and Australia. However, Ben Dwarshuis dismissed the right-handed hitter cheaply after scoring only eight runs off 11 balls.
According to sources, Kohli’s whole bat contract is valued around INR 100 crore. He makes approximately INR 12.5 crore every year from MRF. Meanwhile, Shubman’s bat sponsorship agreement is expected to be around INR 8-10 crore per year. While exact statistics have not been published, the Punjab hitter is reputedly paid in the same bracket as Sachin Tendulkar.
Apart from Shubman, Kohli, and Tendulkar, MRF has worked with legends such as Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Brian Lara, Gautam Gambhir, Steve Waugh, and AB de Villiers.
Shubman Gill vs Virat Kohli statistics in Test cricket
Shubman is widely regarded as India’s next batting sensation after Kohli. The youngster has a strong bond with the veteran and wants to pick his brain as much as he can to better his game. It is not ideal to compare Shubman’s stats to Kohli’s because the latter has played more than five times as many international matches as the former.
Shubman, 25, has only played 32 Tests (59 innings) in his career. Because both of them value the red-ball format so much, CricTracker compares their stats after 32 Tests. Shubman scored 1893 runs at an average of 35.06, including seven fifties and five centuries. Meanwhile, after 32 Tests (57 innings), Kohli had scored 2354 runs at an average of 44.41. He had accumulated 10 fifties and nine centuries at the time.
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