Team India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir has returned home from England due to a family emergency, news agency ANI reported. Gambhir, who had flown to the UK earlier to oversee India A’s progress against England Lions in an unofficial two-match Test series, had to abruptly cut his trip short just before a scheduled intra-squad match.
“Team India’s head coach, Gautam Gambhir, is returning to India from England due to a family emergency,” ANI quoted sources as saying on Friday.
Gambhir had travelled ahead of the main squad to monitor preparations for India’s upcoming five-match Test tour of England, beginning June 20 at Headingley, Leeds. The former opener previously flew home during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for a similar family matter.
Assistant coaching staff takes over intra-squad preparations
With Gambhir temporarily unavailable, assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate has taken charge of the team for the four-day intra-squad fixture between India and India A. Supporting ten Doeschate are other senior coaching members, including bowling coach Morne Morkel and batting coach Sitanshu Kotak.
Gambhir is expected to return to England within a week, well before the start of the Test series.
India’s Test journey begins post-Rohit and Kohli era
The England tour comes at a critical juncture for Indian cricket. With veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retiring from the Test format last month, the squad is undergoing a generational transition. The Shubman Gill-led team is expected to face tough conditions in England without the experience of its long-time batting stalwarts.
India will rely heavily on young talents like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, and Sai Sudharsan to perform under pressure in English conditions.
The five-match Test series will take place between June and August 2025, with fixtures scheduled at Headingley (Leeds), Edgbaston (Birmingham), Lord’s and The Oval (London), and Old Trafford (Manchester).
Test squads for both sides announced
India’s squad:
Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.
England’s squad for first Test:
Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Ben Stokes (capt), Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes.
