Leeds [UK], June 19 : As India prepares to take on England in the highly anticipated Test series starting June 20 in Leeds, newly-appointed Test captain Shubman Gill addressed the media with clarity and confidence, laying out his vision for the team's approach.
"The blueprint that we have received from our seniors in the past 5-10 years is that we can win anywhere," Gill stated during the pre-match press conference.
"We will try to follow that blueprint with confidence," he added.
Gill emphasized the importance of creating a positive and secure environment within the squad, highlighting how team culture directly impacts performance on the field.
"If the environment in the team is good and the players feel secure and confident and they know their roles in the team, we want to create that environment. This will make our Test series and ICC World Test Championship cycle very successful," he noted.
India tour of England will take place from June 20 to August 4, 2025, with matches to be played at Headingley (Leeds), Edgbaston (Birmingham), Lord's (London), Old Trafford (Manchester), and The Oval (London).
A new era beckons for India in the Test format as the modern-day giants gear up for their first assignment without the prized batting bigwigs Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Shubman Gill, India's youngest Test captain, has taken the baton from Rohit to guide the nation to success and challenge for the World Test Championship mace.
India's squad: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana.
England Playing XI for the 1st Test against India: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (C), Jamie Smith (WK), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir.