The Indian Test team, presently captained by Shubman Gill, arrived in London on Saturday for their highly awaited five-match Test series against England, which is set to commence on June 20.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) posted a video of the team's arrival in the UK on its official social media platforms. "Touchdown UK. Team India have arrived for the five-match Test series against England," the caption stated.
Smiles and enthusiasm were seen as players such as Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, and captain Gill posed while on their trip. The squad looked spirited and willing to accept the challenge of English conditions for the next few weeks.
The newly appointed captain Gill spoke to the media in Mumbai before leaving for the challenge ahead, citing the mindset of the team in the absence of Test stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who retired from the format last month.
"I believe there is pressure every time you play and begin a tour or a match. Accordingly, there is pressure before each series but there would not be any additional pressure. Rohit and Virat are highly experienced players and it is quite hard to replace the space, but as a team, we have enough experience, and we have played a lot of matches," Gill replied at the press conference.
He mentioned that the team is not new to high-pressure cricket. "The players and the team are all accustomed to pressure. We are not that inexperienced players. The batting and bowling combination in our team is good," he said.
Gill also spoke about his feelings when he was appointed captain, showing the gravity of the responsibility. He made it clear that the team still hadn't decided where to bat him in the series. Having opened and batted at No. 3 alternately in past tours, Gill's top-order role also depends on who opens with him—most likely Yashasvi Jaiswal or Bengal's Abhimanyu Easwaran, who is yet to make his Test debut.
"Initially, when I realized that I would be given a chance like this, initially, it was extremely overwhelming. It was extremely overwhelming with the whole process. But saying all this, I believe it is an enormous responsibility. And in the future, there are wonderful chances that we will be offered first. And we haven't actually finalized the (batting) order yet. We still have some time.". We have a home match in London. So, we still have time to finalize the batting order," Gill clarified.
India will be seeking their first Test series win on English soil since 2007. The series would also be India's first test against an England team in the 2025–27 ICC World Test Championship cycle.
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