Veteran returns to Team India, will prepare for victory with Shubman Gill, first match on June 20

Gautam Gambhir has joined the team in England. A new era of India’s Test cricket will begin under the captaincy of Shubman Gill. The first Test will be held in Leeds from June 20.

New Delhi. India’s men’s cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir has returned to Leeds, England and joined the team ahead of the first Test starting on Friday. Gambhir returned to India last week as his mother was hospitalized due to ill health. Gambhir left the team before an intra-squad match in Beckenham and assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate took over in his absence.

This tour is important for Gambhir as his coaching tenure has had a mixed start. Under his leadership, India won the Champions Trophy earlier this year. India have lost five of their last eight Tests, including a historic clean sweep at home to New Zealand last year, knocking them out of the race for the WTC final. It remains to be seen how the team does against England.

This series will mark the start of a new era in India’s Test cricket under the new captaincy of Shubman Gill, as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin have retired from the format in the last few months. Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant is now one of the senior members of this young team and is part of the leadership group with Gill, having been appointed as the vice-captain.

On Wednesday, Pant spoke about his friendship with the India captain and the rapport he shares with him on the field. “I think Shubman and I are very good friends off the field. If you are good friends off the field, it reflects on the field as well. This is something I have always believed in. We both get along very well with each other. We keep talking constantly and the comfortable atmosphere we have is going to be very special for us,” Pant told reporters. The first Test will begin in Leeds on June 20.