India's head coach Gautam Gambhir has stressed that adaptability will be the bedrock of his team's approach as the team gears up for a demanding two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. India will head into the series with a young-looking squad, with Gambhir challenging his players to embrace every situation and respond with confidence.
Gambhir also emphasised the importance of maintaining high standards as the team prepares for a crucial phase. The upcoming series against Sri Lanka is very vital as it is India's first assignment in the ICC World Test Championship since the team's disappointing home series defeat against South Africa last year.
“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. Come 15th morning, whether we are batting first, or whether we are bowling first, we're absolutely ready with every answer, every question that's thrown at us and every answer we're ready to give. So make sure we tick all the boxes from now on,” Gambhir said in a video shared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
For India, every remaining Test match is more valuable in the race for a place in the final. Positively, India are coming off victory in the one-off Test against Afghanistan earlier this year.
India squad for Sri Lanka Tests: Shubman Gill (c), KL Rahul (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (wk), B Sai Sudharsan (subject to fitness), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Auqib Nabi, Devdutt Padikkal, Saransh Jain