India’s five-Test tour of England is slated to get underway on June 20 in Leeds, followed by matches at Edgbaston (July 2-6), Lord’s (July 10-14), Old Trafford (July 23-27) and The Oval (July 31-August 4).
Ahead of the marquee series, India head coach Gautam Gambhir motivated the young squad, including new captain Shubman Gill.
Gambhir welcomed the likes of Sai Sudharsan, Arshdeep Singh and Karun Nair to the team during a pre-series net session Beckenham. While Sudharsan and Arshdeep have earned their maiden Test call-ups, Nair has returned to the fold after seven years.
In a video shared by the BCCI on social media, Gambhir shared with the group how they can make the tour "memorable" despite the recent retirements of big names such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and R Ashwin.
"There are two ways of looking at this tour. One is, we are without three of our most experienced players. Or we have got this phenomenal opportunity to do something special for the country," said Gambhir.
"When I look around, I think the hunger, the passion and 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.
“So make sure we start that from today only. I think start enjoying playing for the country because there is no bigger honour," he added.
Gill, who was named India’s Test skipper last month after Rohit’s retirement, urged the players to "find out their game" and play "every ball with purpose".
"Let's make each and every net session meaningful and let us prepare like that and let us put ourselves under a little bit of pressure when we are going out there. It is not about going out there and surviving. Let is try to find out our game, how we are going to play when we will be put under pressure, whether it be bowlers or batters. And let us make the practise match and each and every net session very meaningful and let us play every ball with purpose," he remarked.
India's Test 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.
