The Oddsworth Smell Test
Claim
“Shubman Gill's ODI average of 65.12 at a strike rate of 103.45, after nearly 70 innings and more than 3,700 runs, is higher than anyone has ever managed at that stage.”
Smells right
Data Leaving out games against Afghanistan for everyone, Gill averages 62.04 at a strike rate of 101.8 after 66 innings, ahead of Hashim Amla on 59.25 at 90.5.
Shubman Gill's 223 not out against West Indies set off the claim, and it stands up. Take every batter who has come into ODI cricket since 2006, leave out their games against Afghanistan, and stop the clock after 66 innings: Gill averages 62.04, the highest of the lot.
Hashim Amla is the only one close, on 59.25 after his first 66 innings. Behind him the list drops away sharply, with Babar Azam next on 52.82.
Faster than anyone near him
What sets Gill apart is that the runs have come quickly. His strike rate at the same stage is 101.8, against Amla's 90.5 and Babar's 86.6, so none of the batters close to him on average scored anything like as fast.
He also has more runs than Amla at this point, 3,474 to 3,318, with both dismissed 56 times. The earlier greats who debuted before 2006 sit outside the comparison, but among everyone since, nobody has matched this start.