NEW DELHI: India head coach Gautam Gambhir has delivered a rousing message to his young Test squad ahead of the two-match series against Sri Lanka, urging Shubman Gill and his teammates to ensure they are mentally and physically prepared for every challenge from the opening morning in Galle.
With the World Test Championship campaign gathering momentum and India looking to climb from fifth in the standings, Gambhir stressed that meticulous preparation over the coming days would determine how the visitors fare in spin-friendly Sri Lankan conditions.
The Indian team began training at Colombo’s Nondescripts Cricket Club (NCC) ground on Wednesday and will play a three-day warm-up match against a Sri Lanka XI from August 7 to 9 before heading to Galle for the first Test, beginning on August 15. The second Test will be played at Colombo’s Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) from August 23 to 27.
‘Make sure we tick all the boxes’
Addressing the players in a video shared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Gambhir laid down the challenge for the squad.
“Guys, we know what’s in front of us. We know what we are playing for. We can do the volume, we can push our limits, we can tick all the boxes. Come 15th morning, whether we are batting first, or whether we are bowling first, we’re absolutely ready with every answer, every question that’s thrown at us and every answer we’re ready to give. So make sure we tick all the boxes from now on,” Gambhir said.
The warm-up fixture assumes added importance after India’s recent struggles against quality spin bowling. Several frontline batters, including captain Shubman Gill, KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal, had already begun working on their game against spin before arriving in Sri Lanka, but the three-day match is expected to provide a crucial taste of local conditions.
Many members of the current squad are playing red-ball cricket in Sri Lanka for the first time, with only Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav having previous Test experience in the island nation.
Warm welcome for newcomers
Gambhir also used the team meeting to welcome newcomers Saransh Jain and Auqib Nabi, along with newly appointed fielding coach Subhadeep Ghosh.
“Guys, welcome everyone. We’ve got a couple of new guys in. To start with, Saransh, congratulations, you’ve worked extremely hard to be here. Make sure that you make your family and country proud whenever you get that opportunity.
“Secondly, I want to congratulate Auqib, you had a phenomenal last season, and made J&K win the Ranji Trophy, which is a great achievement. Congratulations once again. Lastly, I want to welcome Joy as well.
“He’s worked with so many teams for so many years. I’m sure his passion, his commitment will carry this team forward and make sure that his energy levels will help everyone achieve the target, which we want to do,” Gambhir added.
India have further strengthened their preparations by drafting in four domestic spinners — Harsh Dubey, Shivang Kumar, Tanush Kotian and Vipraj Nigam — as net bowlers to help the batters sharpen their game against spin.
The visitors, however, head into the series with injury concerns. Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out after failing to recover fully from a knee injury, while Washington Sundar will miss the opening Test with a hamstring issue. Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Akash Deep are also unavailable.
The two-match contest forms part of the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle, with India currently fifth on the table with a points percentage of 48.150, one place above Sri Lanka, who are sixth with 41.67.
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