• Source:JND
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IND vs ENG: The Indian team's preparation for the Test series against England received a huge boost as their head coach Gautam Gambhir rejoined the team ahead of the series opener in Leeds. Gambhir landed in Headingley on Wednesday, June 18, and also attended the team's practice session along with the other coaches as they prepared for the first Test match, which would begin on Friday.

Gambhir had flown back to India last week owing to a family medical emergency as his mother had suffered a heart attack and was thus rushed to a hospital. Due to this, he gave the intra-squad match between IND and IND-A a miss, which was held in Beckenham. And now that his mother's condition has improved, he rejoined the side just a few days ahead of the series opener.

Team India's assistant coaches Ryan Ten Doeschate and Sutanshu Kotak looked after the team's practice session and bowling coach Morne Morkel also played a huge role. India A's coaches Hrishikesh Kanitkar and VVS Laxman also guided the Shubman Gill-led side, who too are currently in England for IND U-19's series against ENG U-19.

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The upcoming five-match Test series will mark India's new WTC cycle 2025-27 and all eyes will be on head coach Gautam Gambhir and India's new Test skipper Shuman Gill. India's Test team will aim to make a brilliant comeback after going through some disappointing series as they had first lost a home series against New Zealand and then suffered a humiliating defeat to Australia during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series earlier this year.

Even if they do win the Test series against England, they still will face stiff challenges in this format during the upcoming series. Both the teams will try to make a flying start to their new WTC cycle and that's why the series opener in Leeds becomes more important.