Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir is expected to rejoin the squad on June 17, Tuesday, with the first Test against England beginning on the 20th. The former Indian opener's absence meant assistant coaches Sitanshu Kotak, Ryan ten Doeschate, bowling coach Morne Morkel oversaw the team's preparations. India A coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar also stayed back.
Gambhir had flown back home to Delhi on July 11 due to his mother getting hospitalised, forcing him to miss the three-day fixture between Indian team and India A. According to ESPN Cricinfo, the 43-year-old's mother's condition has improved ever since.
Gambhir finds himself under pressure after two consecutive series losses in Test cricket. The former left-handed batter was in charge when India suffered a shocking 3-0 whitewash to New Zealand at home and they followed it up with relinquishing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. With a young Indian team, under Shubman Gill, bereft of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, the tourists will start as underdogs.
Team India's squad:
Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (VC & WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.
The Asian Giants are targeting their first Test series win on English soil since 2007. The previous series in England saw India draw the five-Test rubber 2-2.
