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India head coach Gautam Gambhir will rejoin the national team in Leeds on Tuesday. The team will face England in the first Test of the five-match series starting Friday.
Gambhir had flown to New Delhi last week due to a family emergency. His mother’s hospitalisation required his presence. Sources told IANS that Gambhir will definitely arrive in England before the first Test, likely on Tuesday. The Indian team will also reach Leeds that day after taking Monday off.
Gambhir’s absence and team preparations
In Gambhir’s absence, the team trained in Beckenham. They played an intra-squad game between the main Test side and India ‘A’. Abhimanyu Easwaran led the India ‘A’ team. Hrishikesh Kanitkar coached them. BCCI posted updates from the match on social media.
Batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, bowling coach Morne Morkel, fielding coach T Dilip and assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate oversaw preparations. During this time, VVS Laxman visited the squad. His appearance raised questions, as Gambhir was away. However, sources said Laxman’s visit was pre-planned. He was in England for two days after attending an Olympic function in Lausanne.
Selection dilemmas await Gambhir
Gambhir will now face important decisions. The team management must decide which three Tests Jasprit Bumrah will play. They must also finalise the batting order. Options for the number three and four spots include B Sai Sudharsan, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel and Abhimanyu Easwaran.
They also need to pick between seam-bowling allrounders Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shardul Thakur. Another decision involves choosing the third pacer. Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna and Akash Deep are in contention. Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj remain the leading pacers.
Shubman Gill will lead India in this tour. India aim to win their first Test series in England since 2007. This series also marks India’s first campaign in the 2025–27 World Test Championship cycle.
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