'We can tick all boxes': Gautam Gambhir to Team India
What's the story
Ahead of the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, India head coach Gautam Gambhir has urged his young squad to be mentally and physically prepared for every challenge. The series is crucial as India seek to improve its standing in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC). Gambhir emphasized that thorough preparation in the coming days will determine how well they adapt to spin-friendly conditions in Sri Lanka.
Preparation emphasis
What Gambhir said
In a video shared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Gambhir said, "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."
He added that by August 15, they should be ready with answers to any questions thrown at them.
Spin preparation
Importance of warm-up match
The warm-up match against a Sri Lanka XI from August 7 is crucial for India, especially after their recent struggles against quality spin bowling.
Many players, including captain Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, and Yashasvi Jaiswal, have started working on their game against spin even before arriving in Sri Lanka.
This three-day match will give them a taste of local conditions.
Team introduction
Gambhir welcomes new players and fielding coach
Gambhir also welcomed newcomers Saransh Jain and Auqib Nabi, as well as newly appointed fielding coach Subhadeep Ghosh.
He congratulated Jain for his hard work and urged him to make his family and country proud whenever he gets the opportunity.
About Auqib, Gambhir said, "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."
Twitter Post
WATCH: Gambhir adresses the team
The focus shifts to Test Cricket 🏏
— BCCI (@BCCI) August 6, 2026
Welcoming new additions to the squad as #TeamIndia begin the preparations in Colombo 🏟️
WATCH 🎥🔽 #SLvIND https://t.co/Q2IvHhneDA
Team composition
India's squad for the series
India will enter the series without Jasprit Bumrah, who is still recovering from a knee injury, and Washington Sundar, who is out with a hamstring issue.
Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Akash Deep are also unavailable.
Squad: Shubman Gill (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Sai Sudharsan (fitness pending), Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Devdutt Padikkal, Saransh Jain, and Auqib Nabi.