‘Let’s play every ball with a purpose’: Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill’s pep talk to Team India ahead of England series

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India head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shubman Gill will be leading a new-look Indian contingent to England for a 5-match Test series which will be the new regime’s toughest test yet. India will be without the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin who have retired from the format while pacer Mohammed Shami was ruled out due to fitness issues.

In a video shared by the BCCI on Thursday, Gambhir and Gill outlined their targets for the upcoming series while also welcoming newcomers Sai Sudharsan and Arshdeep Singh in the red-ball team. They also lauded Karun Nair who was selected for the national team after 7 long years.

“All I want to say is that there’s two ways of looking to this tour. One is, we are without our three most experienced players or we got this phenomenal opportunity to do something special for the country. When I look around in this group, I think the hunger, the passion, the commitment to do something special. I think if we make sacrifices, if we come out of our comfort zone, if we start fighting, not every day but every session, every hour and every ball, I think we can have a memorable tour,” Gambhir said.

“Let’s make each and every net session meaningful and let’s prepare like that. And let’s put ourselves under a little bit of pressure when we are going out there. It’s not about going out there and surviving, let’s try to find out our game How we are going to play when we are put under pressure. Be it our bowlers or batters. Let’s play every ball with a purpose,” Gill said.

India’s Test series against England is scheduled to kick off from June 20 with the fifth and final Test starting July 31.

India tour of England, Full schedule

1st Test, 20–24 June 2025 – Headingley, Leeds
2nd Test, 2–6 July 2025 – Edgbaston, Birmingham
3rd Test, 10–14 July 2025 – Lord’s, London
4th Test, 23–27 July 2025 – Old Trafford, Manchester
5th Test, 31 July – 4 August 2025 – The Oval, London