India vs England: Gautam Gambhir returns to India due to family emergency

The Indian head coach, Gautam Gambhir, has rushed back to India from England ahead of the start of the five-match series. The latest updates around Gambhir's sudden return to the home country indicate an unfortunate incident. Reportedly, the mother of the Indian head coach has suffered a heart attack back home. The five-match India vs England series is slated to kick off on June 20, ushering in a new era for the team in the format. With the young Shubman Gill taking up the captaincy mantle for the first time, Gambhir is etched as a crucial figure for the Indian squad in England.

India vs England Test series: Gautam Gambhir returns to India, expected to join the camp back before the first match

Latest reports from the Indian camp in England have informed that Gautam Gambhir has returned to India. Gambhir's mother, Seema, has suffered a heart attack and is currently in the ICU. The head coach was missing from India's practice session in Beckenham on Thursday. Now, just hours before the intra-squad practice match of the visitors, it has been confirmed that Gambhir has left the camp. Meanwhile, it has been reported that the head coach is scheduled to join the squad back before the start of the main India vs England Test series that starts on June 20.

Gautam Gambhir, along with the Indian bowling coach Morne Morkel, made crucial prompts to prepare the conditions at the Kent Cricket County. With the warm-up match scheduled at Kent, Gambhir and Morkel held an internal meeting to take note of the conditions. Following the meeting, the pitch curator in Beckenham received clear directives for how the surface should look. The reports suggested that the Indian support staff demanded a neutral pitch that would assist both the batters and the bowlers in equal measure.

The India vs England Test series, slated to start on June 20 at Headingley, will mark a significant transition for the India squad. The team will be without their seasoned picks, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Following their retirements earlier in May this year, the selection panel called up Karun Nair and Sai Sudharsan in the squad for the England tour to fill the gaps. Meanwhile, Shubman Gill took up the captaincy mantle and will start his leadership tenure at Leeds with a relatively raw team at his hands.

The exits of Kohli and Rohit have made it tricky to find the right balance in the Indian batting order for the Test series. Before leaving for England, Gambhir and Gill addressed the press. While Gill talked about the style of leadership he aims to withhold in the Indian camp, the captain-coach duo refused to disclose the batting order. Gambhir at the time had stated that there remained significant time left before the start of the series and the Indian combination would be decided following thorough observation.