India head coach Gambhir urges players to skip survival stage and play ‘with purpose’ on England tour

Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir delivered a loud and clear message to Indian players, urging them to skip the survival stage mode and play each ball ‘with purpose’ on the upcoming England tour, starting with the first Test in Leeds.

With three senior players, Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin and Rohit Sharma, all absent due to respective Test retirements, this new-look Indian Team has a chance to pull off what no touring Indian side could do on English soil since 2007 - is to beat them away from home.

As Team India continues to prepare for the marquee five-match Test series, head coach Gambhir and newly-appointed Test captain Shubman Gill addressed the team during a huddle, outlining the need to ensure they stay at the top throughout the series, which gets underway June 20. Gautam, surrounded by newcomers Arshdeep Singh and Sai Sudharsan, gave a pep talk to his players.

Gambhir said there are different ways to look at this series, and amidst all the hard work and talent at their disposal, they must stick together and make sacrifices, come out of their comfort zone and play each session, hour and ball with a purpose.

“All I want to say is that there’s two ways of looking to this tour. One is, we are without our three most experienced players, or we got this phenomenal opportunity to do something special for the country. When I look around in this group, I think the hunger, the passion, 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,” Gambhir said in a video posted by BCCI’s social media handle on Thursday (June 12).

Gill, who stood beside Gambhir, also echoed the same feelings but with a twist. The team skipper urged the players to take little pressure while preparing for the Test series, only to learn the art of absorbing it while being in that situation during the game.

“Let’s make each and every net session meaningful, and let’s prepare like that. And let’s put ourselves under a little bit of pressure when we are going out there. It’s not about going out there and surviving; let’s try to find out our game, how we are going to play when we are put under pressure. Be it our bowlers or batters. Let’s play every ball with a purpose,” Gill said.

Meanwhile, the senior men's team will face India-A in a closed-door intra-squad match starting June 13.