Gautam Gambhir Addresses Shubman Gill's New Era After Rohit and Virat Ahead of England Tests

The five-match Test series between India and England will begin at Headingly on June 20. India's key three players—Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Virat Kohli—will not be available for the first time.

By Emilia Blake 12 Jun 2025 in Cricket

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Gautam Gambhir — Photograph: (Source: @BCCI X)

Head coach Gautam Gambhir and Test captain Shubman Gill spoke to the team as they enter a new era with the retirements of veterans Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin. India will start their new World Test Championship cycle (2025–27) with the England series.

The team's preliminary camp was held at Beckenham, where they started their official training. During an internal team meeting, Gautam Gambhir and bowling coach Morne Morkel laid out a clear plan, stressing the importance of flexibility and a strong will to succeed under English conditions.

Gautam Gambhir gets candid:

Speaking to the new-look group, Gambhir discussed the dedication and sacrifices needed to accomplish something unique in England. Gambhir stated in a video that the BCCI made public, "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 I started enjoying playing for the country because there is no bigger honour."

Vibes. Form. Focus 🔥#TeamIndia in full prep mode at Beckenham 💙 #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/kBkDiGetmp
— BCCI (@BCCI) June 9, 2025

Karun Nair, who is returning to the Indian team after eight long years, was given special recognition when Gambhir greeted the new players in a team huddle earlier. Following the Karnataka batter's outstanding domestic season, Nair was rewarded with a spot in the India Test squad. In 16 innings, the right-hander amassed 863 runs at an average of 53.93 in the Ranji Trophy 2024–25, including four hundreds and two fifties. Nair helped his team win the championship by scoring 135 points in the final. In a recent match against the England Lions, he also hit a double ton for India A.

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