Daijiworld Media Network - London
London, Jun 8: There was no time to waste for the newly appointed Test captain Shubman Gill and his team as they kicked off their first training session in England, preparing for the much-anticipated five-match Test series that launches the 2025–27 ICC World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.
This tour marks the start of a new era for Indian cricket following the recent Test retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. The team will be eager to conquer a long-standing challenge: winning a Test series on English soil for the first time since 2007.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) offered fans a sneak peek into the squad’s preparations by sharing a behind-the-scenes video on social media, captioned: “First sight of #TeamIndia getting into the groove in England.”
In the clip, India’s formidable pace arsenal—Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammad Siraj, and Arshdeep Singh—was seen sweating it out alongside Shubman Gill, veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, and dynamic wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant. Overseen by head coach Gautam Gambhir and his support staff, the team put in high-intensity drills at the iconic Lord’s Indoor Cricket Centre.
The series kicks off on June 20 at Headingley in Leeds, followed by Tests at Edgbaston in Birmingham and the historic Lord’s Cricket Ground starting July 10. The final two Tests will be played at Old Trafford in Manchester and The Oval in London.
Gill, now India’s 37th Test captain, steps into big shoes left by Sharma’s departure. Having opened and batted at No. 3 in Tests, Gill has so far accumulated 1,893 runs from 32 Tests at an average of 35.1, including five centuries and seven fifties.
India’s squad for the tour:
• Captain: Shubman Gill
• Vice-Captain & WK: Rishabh Pant
• Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy
• Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur
• Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav
The Gill-led squad, guided by Gambhir’s coaching staff, is determined to write a new chapter in Indian cricket by achieving what has eluded them for nearly two decades: a Test series triumph in England.