Head coach Gautam Gambhir returning to India from England due to family emergency: Sources

NEW DELHI: India Cricket head coach Gautam Gambhir is returning home from England due to a family emergency, according to sources.

Gambhir travelled to England last week with the squad to bolster their preparations for their upcoming five-match Test series assignment in England, which begins on June 20 at Headingley.

On Friday, when India was set to play an intra-squad match for the series, sources claimed that Gambhir was returning to India due to a family emergency.

“Team India’s head coach, Gautam Gambhir, is returning to India from England due to a family emergency,” sources said on Friday.

In the upcoming series, India faces a massive challenge in the testing conditions of England. After batting wizards Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli bid adieu to Test cricket last month, India was left short on experience. With India bereft of its torchbearers, the management turned to youngsters to mark the beginning of a new era.

The five-test tour of England starts June 20 at Leeds and lasts until August 2025. With India lining up without its batting bigwigs Rohit and Virat following their retirement from the game’s longest format, the onus lies on the Shubman-led revamped side to prove itself away from home in testing and gruelling English conditions.

The series will be held from June to August, with matches scheduled at Headingley in Leeds, Edgbaston in Birmingham, Lord’s and The Oval in London, and Old Trafford in Manchester.

India’s Test squad for England series: 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.

England squad for first Test vs India: Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Ben Stokes (capt), Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes. (ANI)