Gautam Gambhir leaves ailing mother to rejoin India squad in England on this date

Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir will return to England and link up with the team on Tuesday (June 17), as per TOI.

The former India batsman had to rush back home last week due to a family medical emergency as his mother suffered a heart attack and was in the ICU. He left the team and returned home last Wednesday (June 11). Although his mother is still in the hospital, Gambhir has decided to rejoin the team for national duty.

Other India coaches took charge in Gambhir's absence

While Gautam Gambhir was in India, assistant coaches Sitanshu Kotak, Ryan ten Doeschate, and Morne Morkel took charge of the team for a four-day intra-squad game against India A in Beckenham.

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With the first Test to get underway on June 20 in Leeds, Gautam Gambhir only has a couple of days in his hands to fine-tune the preparations. The Indian team management was grappling with several selection dilemmas following the retirement of stalwarts such as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin.

Shardul Thakur impressed with the bat in the intra-squad game

The performance of the players in the intra-squad game is likely to play a key role in the selection of the team for the first Test. According to reports, KL Rahul and Shubman Gill hit fifties on day one of the game before Sarfaraz Khan scored a century off just 76 balls for India A.

On day three, Shardul Thakur impressed with the bat, smashing an unbeaten 122 runs before the team management decided to call off the game.

A crucial series for Gautam Gambhir and Team India

The series against England will be a very crucial one, not only for Team India but also for Gautam Gambhir.

The head coach faced severe criticism last season after India suffered dismal series defeats against New Zealand and Australia.

Those two defeats also cost the team a place in the World Test Championship final. Following the horrendous show, there were also calls from several quarters to sack Gautam Gambhir as the Test coach. The former cricketer will be hoping that the team performs well against England.

The series will also mark the beginning of a new journey for the Indian team. With captain Rohit Sharma and veteran batsman Virat Kohli announcing their Test retirement last month, Shubman Gill will be leading the team against England. India have not won a Test series in England since 2007 and will be eyeing a famous series win.

Also Read: Karun Nair drops retirement bombshell, claims prominent Indian cricketer forced him to retire for money