'Phenomenal opportunity to do something special' - Gambhir and Gill's message for India ahead of England Tests

As India are set to begin their new World Test Championship cycle (2025-27) with the England series, head coach Gautam Gambhir and Test skipper Shubman Gill addressed the squad as they move into a new era post the retirements of stalwarts Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin.

The side began its official training at Beckenham, the venue for their preparatory camp. Gambhir and bowling coach Morne Morkel put out a clear roadmap during an internal team meeting, emphasising on the need of adaptability and fighting spirit in English conditions.

Players who were part of the India A tour, including Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Karun Nair, joined the senior team after their two drawn matches against the England Lions. Gambhir, during his pep talk, mentioned the honour of representing the country, especially in Test cricket.

"All I want to say is there are two ways of looking at this group. One is that we are without our three most experienced players. We got this phenomenal opportunity to do something special for the country. I'm going to look around. It's in this group - I think the hunger, the passion and the commitment to do something special. I think we made sacrifices. If we come out of our comfort zone, if we start fighting not every day but every session, every hour, and every day, I think we can have a memorable tour. So, make sure we start that today only. I think start enjoying playing for the country because there is no bigger honour,' he said in a video posted by BCCI.

Let's play every ball with purpose: Shubman Gill

Pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna looked in great touch in the best, while Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, and new skipper Shubman Gill worked on their respective game plans. The intra-squad match starting this week will serve as India 's only preparatory fixture, but with its near full-strength squad. Gill also took a moment to motivate his teammates for the challenging England summer and asked them to not play to survive but to thrive under pressure.

"Let's make each and every net session meaningful. Let's prepare like that and let's put ourselves under a little bit of pressure when we are going out there and let's try to, it's not about going out there and surviving. Let's try to find out our game. How we gonna play when we will be put in the threshold. Whether be it bowlers or batters. And let's make the practice match and each and every net very meaningful. And let's play every ball. Let's play every ball with purpose," Gill said.

India’s five-match Test series against England is scheduled to begin on June 20 at Leeds and will continue through August with games at Edgbaston, Lord’s, The Oval, and Old Trafford.