A Test of character

Beckenham: India head coach Gautam Gambhir has called on his team to move out of its “comfort zone” and make the upcoming Test series against England a “memorable” one, especially in the absence of retired stars Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and R Ashwin.

India will search for their maiden series victory in England since 2007, when the five-match rubber starts with the first Test at Leeds on June 20.

“There are two ways of looking at this tour. One is we are without our three most experienced players or we got this phenomenal opportunity to do something special for the country,” Gambhir told BCCI.tv, referring to the recent retirements of Ashwin, Rohit and Kohli. The former India opener said he can feel the “passion and the commitment” to achieve something special flowing through the current bunch, led by Shubman Gill.

“When I look around in this group, I think I see the hunger, the passion and the commitment to do something special. If we make sacrifices, if we come out of our comfort zone, if we start fighting not every day but every session, every hour and every ball, I think we can have a memorable tour,” he added.

Gambhir welcomed the whole squad to the tour of England, and extended a special tribute to some of the members, starting with B Sai Sudharsan.

“First Test calls are always special, so I want to welcome Sai, who has a fabulous three months with the bat and make sure you have a very very successful red ball career.”

Gambhir hoped that pacer Arshdeep Singh would remain his impactful self in red-ball cricket as well.

“I want to welcome Arshdeep Singh. You have been phenomenal with the white ball and I am sure you will make it count with the red ball

in your hand.”

Gambhir was lavish in his praise for Karun Nair, who stitched a stirring comeback to Team India on the back of a wonderful run

in domestic cricket.

Karun said he was “grateful” to get a second chance to play for India. “Grateful for this opportunity again. I am really looking forward to grabbing this opportunity with both hands. I am sure there will be a lot of feelings,” he said.