There is good news for the Indian cricket team on the England tour. Head coach Gautam Gambhir, who had returned to India due to his mother's illness, will rejoin Team India in England on June 17. Let us tell you that Gambhir's mother, Seema Gambhir, had a heart attack last Wednesday. After that, Gambhir came back to India on Thursday. Right now, his mother's condition is stable, but she is still in the ICU. However, understanding the importance of the Test series against England, Gambhir has decided to return to England on Tuesday. 

According to the latest reports from RevSportz Global, Gautam Gambhir’s mother is recovering well. After careful talks with the doctors, Gambhir has decided to return to England. When head coach Gambhir returned to India, assistant coach Sitanshu Kotak, fielding coach Ryan ten Doeschate, and bowling coach Morne Morkel took charge of the team for the four-day intra-squad match against India A in Beckenham.

The Indian team is expected to travel from London to Leeds on Tuesday and should reach the city by evening. Since it is a travel day, there will be no practice session on Tuesday. However, the next two days before the first Test against England on June 20 will be used for long net sessions.

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Shubman Gill’s team had an intra-squad practice match from June 13 to 15, where India played against India A in Beckenham. The team chose this kind of practice instead of playing a local English side to improve their preparations. Monday (June 16) is a rest day for the players, as they get ready for a busy week ahead. After the five-match Test series starts in Leeds, the teams will travel to Birmingham, Lord’s, Manchester, and the final match will be played at The Oval.

🚨 HEAD COACH GAUTAM GAMBHIR TO REJOIN TEAM INDIA ON JUNE 17 IN ENGLAND 🚨 (Sahil Malhotra/TOI). pic.twitter.com/oLvJCZUQt1

— Tanuj (@ImTanujSingh) June 16, 2025

Gambhir and new Test captain Shubman Gill now face the challenge of finalizing the playing XI before the five-match Test series against England. With the retirement of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, the batting order needs to be reshaped. The team must decide who will bat at number three and four. It is almost confirmed that after Rohit Sharma's retirement, KL Rahul will open the innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal. Captain Shubman Gill and Karun Nair are the main options for the middle order. Now, it remains to be seen which position they will bat at.

Apart from this, in the absence of Mohammed Shami and due to Jasprit Bumrah's workload, choosing the fast bowling trio is also a tough task. Prasidh Krishna performed well in the intra-squad match and against the England Lions. In this case, it will be interesting to see which two pacers will join Jasprit Bumrah in the playing XI. Mohammad Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, and Prasidh Krishna are in the race. At the same time, the role of the fourth fast bowler could be given to either Nitish Reddy or Shardul Thakur.

In the absence of head coach Gautam Gambhir, VVS Laxman was spotted at Beckenham during India's intra-squad match ahead of the five-match Test series against England, starting this Friday.

As per multiple reports that came straight from the UK, it suggested that Laxman was closely monitoring the multi-day practice match along with the BCCI chief selector, Ajit Agarkar. Gambhir had to take a flight back to India because of his ailing mother; he has to join his family before the series begins.

VVS Laxman, head of the Centre of Excellence, mainly spent his time with the emerging players. The reason is not clear why he was in Beckenham before the all-important series versus England. There are multiple claims about his arrival in the UK, but all of the reports are suggesting something different. So, as of now, there is no clear indication why the former Indian cricketer was there.

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In a media report it is said, "The target is to win in England, and he may have spoken to the coaches and selectors present here and perhaps even attended the intra-squad game." But he holds no official role with this team."

As of now, the reason is not clear

But another quotation suggested, "He went to Switzerland and simply stopped by in London to spend time with the boys." It was always part of his plan." Among the contrary reports, there are now strong beliefs that Laxman was in Switzerland for a conference before heading to England. But there is no official confirmation from the board of the 50-year-old. 

Whatever the reason might be, his arrival could help the team a lot. He played 11 Tests in England and scored 586 runs at an average of 34.47, including five half-centuries. Laxman played in the county as well, for Lancashire in a couple of seasons. 

Team India, using all of their tools to structure a hard and sustainable foundation, is set to introduce multiple new additions in the playing XI for the first Test match of the five-match series starting on June 20 against England at Leeds.

To get acclimatized to the English conditions, BCCI has sent two different sets of players to the UK—the India 'A' team followed by the main team. A video shared by the Indian Cricket Team's official social media account caught the eyes of Indian cricket fans.

It is speculated that in the video, head coach of team India, Gautam Gambhir, provided hints about the probable playing combination for the Headingley Test. Ahead of this important game, Gambhir welcomed Sai Sudharsan and Arshdeep Singh as the new candidates of the squad and Karun Nair, who made his Team India comeback almost after seven years. While welcoming these three cricketers into the main squad, Gambhir heaps praise on all of them. That event and welcome speeches by the head coach are treated as hints about the possible playing XI for the first Test match of the tour by a part of cricket fans.

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Who can play?

Apart from Sudharshan, Nair, and Arshdeep, as the senior players of the squad, KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja can be placed in the XI. As per reports, Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal can form the opening pair in Leeds. Captain Shubman Gill and vice-captain Rishabh Pant are the automatic choices. Jasprit Bumrah has been doing extremely well in the nets and can play the first game along with Mohammed Siraj.

Selection of the pace bowling all-rounder can be tricky, as Shardul Thakur has the experience but was unimpressive against England Lions in comparison with Nitish Kumar Reddy, who has less experience but looked promising against the Lions. So for now, Reddy can be fortunate enough to get a place in the playing group. 

India's probable playing XI for the first match:

Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj. 

The Indian team is currently on a tour of England. From today, the players are playing a practice match among themselves. This is a four-day match. On the first day, Friday, the players and support staff observed a minute of silence before the start of play and came onto the field wearing black armbands.

Team India will play a five-match Test series in England, starting from June 20. The team has already started its preparations. Before this intra-squad match, Team India played two practice matches against the England Lions. Now, the Indian players will play a match among themselves as part of their final preparations.

Team India wore black bands during the practice match. When the players came out to play, they observed a minute's silence. The support staff also took part in this. All the players wore black bands on their arms. Team India took this step to pay tribute to the victims of the plane crash that happened in Ahmedabad yesterday. An Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff, and all the passengers on board lost their lives. To express grief, the Indian team observed silence and wore black bands.

On Thursday, June 12, Air India’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which was flying to London Gatwick, crashed just after takeoff from Ahmedabad. Out of the 242 people on board, only one person survived.

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The BCCI shared photos of the team wearing black bands on social media. The post read, "The players and members of support staff involved in the intra-squad game in Beckenham are wearing black armbands. A minute's silence was also observed today to pay homage to the victims of the Ahmedabad plane crash, as a mark of respect for the lives lost and solidarity with the affected families."

Team India observing a minute's silence to pay homage to the victims of the Ahmedabad plane crash. pic.twitter.com/B2p5WEL2l0

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) June 13, 2025

At the same time, the final match of the ICC World Test Championship is being played between Australia and South Africa at Lord’s in England. Today is the third day of the match. In this match too, players from both teams were seen wearing black bands. They also did this to pay tribute to the victims of the Ahmedabad plane crash.

According to reports, India head coach Gautam Gambhir, flew back to India on Friday due to a family emergency. News agency PTI reported that he returned to attend to his mother, who has been admitted to a hospital in New Delhi due to health issues. The Indian Test team, led by Shubman Gill, is currently in the UK for a five-match Test series against England, which will start on June 20 in Leeds.

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.

Eyes will be on the young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, especially after Rohit Sharma's retirement. The extremely talented 23-year-old batter is considered one of the future stars from the current Team India squad.

For him, the upcoming 5-match Test series against England can be crucial, as he can get an opportunity to take center stage, as there will be no Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, or Ravichandran Ashwin. According to some of the latest reports, Jaiswal had an 'animated chat' with Gambhir.

According to the updates, the southpaw positioned himself with an attacking approach during a net session and found himself defenseless on multiple occasions, which could have triggered the head coach, Gautam Gambhir.

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Reports further claimed that, after an animated conversation with the coach, the rising star became calm and composed and switched to test mode. Gambhir already said to his boys that the retirements of the three icons can be a golden opportunity for the players currently with the team. Gambhir urged the players to get out of their comfort zone.

Gautam Gambhir asked all the players in the sqaud to get out of comfort zone

"There are two ways of looking at this. One is that we are without are three most experienced players (Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin), or we have a phenomenal opportunity to do something special for the country. When I look around this group, I think there’s hunger, passion, and the commitment to do something special. If we make sacrifices, if we come out of our comfort zones, if we start fighting, not every day, but every session, every hour, every ball, I think we can have a memorable tour. Make sure we start that from today only. We start enjoying playing for the country because there’s no bigger honour," Gambhir told BCCI.tv.

India will be in search of their maiden series victory in England since 2007 when the five-match Test series starts on June 20. After missing out on the ICC World Test Championship Final 2025 (WTC Final 2025), Team India, under Shubman Gill's leadership, is waiting to see a new dawn in the Whites. 

Team India is set to start its campaign for the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle against England from the 20th of June at Headingley under the captaincy of a new captain, Shubman Gill. Team India consists of some new faces who are unfamiliar with the English conditions that will challenge them. Head coach Gautam Gambhir faces a challenging task, as it is always difficult to beat England on their home ground. Team India last won a test series in England under the captaincy of former India skipper and coach Rahul Dravid in 2007. The current team can take motivation from that team. The current Indian team consists of some talented players who are capable of beating the Three Lions if they play to their capabilities.

England right-hander Ollie Pope stated that star India player and former India skipper Virat Kohli's absence from the team will be a big factor. Kohli recently announced his retirement from test cricket, which shocked everyone. Pope said Kohli's absence would be felt. Although he said that the current Indian set-up possesses some talented cricketers who could be the future stars. Both teams will feel the pressure, and hopefully, it could mould test cricket in a big way.

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It's a young team, but these Indian players have so much depth and talent. So they've got a lot of young guys coming through; a lot of good players. Shubman Gill, their new captain, is a fantastic player. They will miss the aura of Virat Kohli standing at slips and chirping away. But they have got some good talent, so they will feel confident. But our players are ready for it," Ollie Pope said, speaking to India Today.

It's the perfect time to play India: Ollie Pope

Pope mentioned that while Sri Lanka and the West Indies had toured England last summer, India’s current tour presented a more significant challenge due to the quality of the Indian team. He said this would help the England team focus better and described it as the perfect time to play against India. He also expressed that the upcoming Ashes series would be an exciting prospect.

"Last summer, Sri Lanka and the West Indies had toured England, but with India touring England this time around, and the quality Team India possesses, it would help the England team focus on this challenge. It's the perfect time to play India, and once the Ashes series arrives, it will be exciting," Pope added further.

On 12 May 2025, Virat Kohli officially announced his retirement from Test cricket, just ahead of India’s tour of England. The timing surprised many, as Kohli had enjoyed considerable success in England previously. His decision also raised eyebrows because he was merely 770 runs away from reaching the remarkable milestone of 10,000 Test runs. Fans and experts alike were left speculating about the reasons behind his exit from the longest format, especially given his form and fitness.

Karun Nair's double century last week in the first unofficial Test against England Lions has brought him into the national limelight again. The right-hand bat, who had played for India the last time in 2017, made a strong statement with his 204 off 273 balls, studded with 26 fours and a six. With the Indian team gearing up for a five-match Test series in England, his current form and experience have been highly valued.

India's head coach, Gautam Gambhir, and recently appointed Test captain, Shubman Gill, spoke on various issues prior to the team's departure for England. Gambhir particularly praised Nair's return and highlighted its significance for domestic cricket and that these performances remind everyone of the value of the domestic circuit and also serve as motivation for young cricketers to strive for national selection.

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Gambhir also emphasized Nair's County cricket experience, saying that his exposure to English conditions will prove to be the key on the tour. With seniors Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli not around, Nair is likely to take on some of the responsibility in the middle order. “Always good to have the experience of Karun. He played County cricket there and is in really good form,” Gambhir said.

Gambhir Supports Consistency Over Short-Term Judgements

Gambhir went on to explain that the Indian team management does not want to judge players based on one or two games. Rather, perennial performers such as Nair will be provided enough opportunities to establish themselves at the international level. "If someone has scored heaps of runs, he will be given a decent run," he added.

Nair's return to the side is not merely an individual comeback but a sign to all local players that good performances will be rewarded. His inclusion is part of a larger strategy by the team management to support form and experience, particularly on testing overseas tours such as the one in England.

As the dust settles on the historic IPL 2025 edition, which saw Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) win their maiden title, the focus now shifts to the longest format. All the spotlight will be on the new-look Indian Test team as they gear up for a high-octane five-match Test series showdown against England starting from June 20. 

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India will be without their most senior servicemen, Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma, both of whom announced their Test retirement prior to the start of the series. Shubhman Gill has been named India's new Test captain. In a very recent press conference, Gill, along with Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir, addressed some important questions from the media and reflected on how India is shaping up to take on England in the upcoming Test series. Below are some of the key insights that have surfaced from the press conference:

No easy replacement for Rohit and Kohli says Gill

Gill acknowledges that the loss of the two most experienced servicemen is likely going to cause a void. Both Virat and Rohit have been India's most prolific batters across all formats. To be able to fill their shows in the short space of time may not be feasible in the short run. But India's new test captain is full of hope and optimism and backs the young brigade to stand up and make a name for themselves. He further adds that there is pressure in every tour, and the boys in his camp are well-seasoned warriors and know how to tackle pressure. 

How will the batting order look? 

The batting order is still in the works. It is something which is yet to be fully ascertained. Gill's position in the batting order isn't crystal clear at this stage. He mentions that the team will get a better assessment of the batting order once they take part in an intra-squad match. The process will also involve a 10-day camp in London where the team will hold discussions and discuss key aspects of the batting order. 

Gill and Gambhir undermine claims of over-reliance on Bumrah

It goes without saying that Jasprit Bumrah will be an asset for India in these conditions. These are conditions that are tailor-made for him to strive. While India may have a handful of accomplished fast bowlers in their ranks, Bumrah is arguably indispensable. His control on line and length, coupled with his ability to strike with the new as well as the old ball, make him a very destructive prospect. However, Gambhir believes that the entire bowling unit, barring Bumrah, has what it takes to deliver results. He cited the recent example of the Champions Trophy 2025 edition, where the omission of Bumrah opened up doors for Chakravarthy, who starred with the ball in that tournament. Similarly, Gill also backs his bowlers and has full belief in them that they can turn it around from any situation. 

Gill comments on England's aggressive style of play

The Indian captain is no stranger to England's "Bazball" tactics. India have previously hosted England for a five-match series last year and registered incredible success against. England tried to outplay India in that series by deploying aggressive tactics, but the home side kept pulling them down. Gill knows what to expect from the Poms and believes that the aggressive style of play presents them with an opportunity to cash in.

Gambhir's thoughts on the horrific stampede incident

RCB's victory parade stampede has sent shockwaves all across the nation, and the Indian head coach expresses grief and condolences for the fallen souls who came in witness to cherish RCB's glory. Gambhir added that he was never a big fan of the roadshows and, in his opinion, some of the roadshows are better off being avoided for security reasons. Even during the 2007 T20 WC roadshow, Gambhir never felt safe. He further adds that he is more in favor of having celebrations inside the stadium instead of outside.  He stresses that every life holds value, and the loss of 11 lives is intolerable. Roadshows should only be staged if sufficient arrangements are made. 

Gautam Gambhir, team India head coach, has made a bold statement about the tragic stampaied incident during Royal Challengers Bengaluru's IPL 2025 winning celebration. According to reports, 11 people had lost their lives and left many injured for the stampaied-like situation outside M Chinnaswamy stadium, where the champion team was felicitated.

This incident shook the cricket world as well as the entire nation. Fans were gathered out there to celebrate and experience a memorable time, but among those few will never come back. Gautam Gambhir has a clear opinion about the incident. Team India coach even said that he never believed in road shows as well. He said in the press conference, "I was never a believer in having road shows - I thought so as a player & think of it now - My heart goes out to those who suffered from tragedy."

India will travel to England for the 5-match Test series starting on June 10. Prior to the tour, Gambhir and newly appointed Test captain of Team India, Shubman Gill, were presented in a press conference today (June 5). There, they have to face multiple questions related to the series, their squad, individual players, and Bengaluru. 

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India vs. England Test Series 2025 Schedule:

First Test: June 20-24, Headingley (Leeds)

Second Test: July 2-6, Edgbaston (Birmingham)

Third Test: July 10-14, Lord’s (London)

Fourth Test, July 23-27, Old Trafford (Manchester)

Fifth Test: July 31-August 4, The Oval (London)

India’s squad: Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (VC & WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, and Kuldeep Yadav.