Head coach Gautam Gambhir returning to India from England due to family emergency: Sources

ANI June 13, 2025 255 views

India's head coach Gautam Gambhir has abruptly returned home from England due to a family emergency. This comes as the young Indian squad prepares for a challenging 5-Test series against England starting June 20. The team will be without recently retired batting legends Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, putting pressure on new captain Shubman Gill. The series marks the beginning of a new era for Indian Test cricket with several fresh faces in the squad.

"Team India's head coach, Gautam Gambhir, is returning to India from England due to a family emergency" - Sources
New Delhi, June 13: India Cricket head coach Gautam Gambhir is returning home from England due to a family emergency, according to sources.

Key Points

1

Gambhir left England during intra-squad match prep

2

India faces England in 5-Test series starting June 20

3

Squad missing retired stars Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli

4

Youngsters like Shubman Gill lead new-look Test team

Gambhir travelled to England last week with the squad to bolster their preparations for their upcoming five-match Test series assignment in England, which begins on June 20 at Headingley.

On Friday, when India was set to play an intra-squad match for the series, sources claimed that Gambhir was returning to India due to a family emergency.

"Team India's head coach, Gautam Gambhir, is returning to India from England due to a family emergency," sources said on Friday.

In the upcoming series, India faces a massive challenge in the testing conditions of England. After batting wizards Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli bid adieu to Test cricket last month, India was left short on experience. With India bereft of its torchbearers, the management turned to youngsters to mark the beginning of a new era.

The five-test tour of England starts June 20 at Leeds and lasts until August 2025. With India lining up without its batting bigwigs Rohit and Virat following their retirement from the game's longest format, the onus lies on the Shubman-led revamped side to prove itself away from home in testing and gruelling English conditions.

The series will be held from June to August, with matches scheduled at Headingley in Leeds, Edgbaston in Birmingham, Lord's and The Oval in London, and Old Trafford in Manchester.

India's Test squad for England series: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.

England squad for first Test vs India: Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Ben Stokes (capt), Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes.

Reader Comments

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Rahul K.
Family first always! Hope everything is okay with Gambhir sir. The team will manage fine in his absence for a while. Our young players need to step up now more than ever 🇮🇳 #PrayersForGambhir
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Priya M.
Tough situation for the team right before such an important series. But personal emergencies can't be helped. Hope BCCI has good support staff who can handle things till Gambhir returns. The England tour is always challenging, especially without our senior players.
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Amit S.
Gambhir's experience against England would have been invaluable. But health and family come before cricket. Hope he comes back soon - the young team needs his guidance in those tough English conditions. #Respect
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Sanjay P.
This is why we need strong backup coaching staff. England series is make-or-break for many young players. Hope Gambhir's absence doesn't affect preparations too much. On the positive side, this might force players to take more responsibility themselves.
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Neha T.
Wishing Gambhir and his family strength during this difficult time ❤️ As for the team, this could be a blessing in disguise - sometimes adversity brings out the best in players. Let's see if our youngsters can rise to the occasion without their coach for a while.
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Vikram J.
The timing couldn't be worse, but family emergencies don't come with warnings. Hope the support staff and senior players like Jadeja and Bumrah can guide the youngsters. This England tour will show us if we've truly built bench strength after the retirements.

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Gautam Gambhir India vs England Test series Cricket news Shubman Gill Rohit Sharma Virat Kohli