India head coach Gautam Gambhir has headed back home from England due to a family emergency, just before the beginning of the high-stakes five-Test series against England. According to Revsportz, the emergency is that Gambhir's mother had a heart attack and was placed in the ICU. Gambhir, who had accompanied the team to monitor preparations, was himself participating in training sessions before he headed back to India. His departure came right before an important intra-squad match between India and India A, which was part of the team’s build-up to the series.

The highly awaited tour starts on June 20 at Headingley in Leeds and also kick-starts a new cycle of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC). The timing is inauspicious for India as the team moves into a transition mode after the retirement of batting legends Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. The coaching fraternity will now have to depend on ad hoc assistance as the team tries to iron out wrinkles before the opener.

The five-Test series will run from June to August, with matches scheduled to be played at top English grounds like Edgbaston, Lord's, The Oval, and Old Trafford. The nascent Indian team, now led by Shubman Gill, has a tough job in English conditions. The leadership void caused by Kohli and Rohit is a big one, which puts even more pressure on emerging stars to deliver the goods.

New Era for Team India in England

This series is the first big task for Shubman Gill as Test captain, and Rishabh Pant is appointed as his deputy. The team has a blend of experienced and young players, with new names such as Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, and Nitish Reddy included in order to build the new generation of Indian red-ball cricket. The absence of Gambhir in this key transition period may prove to be a setback, though he should return to the side once the home situation recovers.

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On the opposite side is Ben Stokes' battle-hardened England team that is full of firepower and depth, comprising Joe Root, Ollie Pope, and rising star Shoaib Bashir. With both teams in the midst of a generational transition, this WTC opener is all set to be a thrilling match that may set the tone for the future of Test cricket for both teams.