CHENNAI: As the Indian men's team is sweating it out in hot and humid conditions of Colombo, in their first day at training head coach Gautam Gambhir has sent out a clear message to the players. While addressing the team on Wednesday, he said that come August 15, they will be ready with answers for everything Sri Lanka throw at them in the first Test.
"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," Gambhir said in the video shared by BCCI on social media.
"Come 15th morning (August 15), whether we are batting first, whether we are bowling first, we're absolutely ready with every answer, every question that's thrown at us, and every answer we are ready to give. So make sure we tick all the boxes from now on," he added.
In a short address to the team before their first practice session, Gambhir also welcomed the new entrants — spin-bowling all-rounder Saransh Jain and pacer Auqib Nabi. "We've got a couple of new guys in. To start with, Saransh, congratulations. You've worked extremely hard to be here," Gambhir said welcoming the 33-year-old late bloomer.
"Make sure that you make your family and your country proud, whenever you get that opportunity. Secondly, I want to congratulate Auqib. You had a phenomenal last season, making J&K win the Ranji Trophy, which is a great achievement. Congratulations once again," he added.
Jain was added to the squad with Washington Sundar missing out the first Test due to injury. The Madhya Pradesh all-rounder has been a prolific performer in domestic cricket much like Nabi who guided Jammu and Kashmir to their first Ranji title. Nabi replaced injured Jasprit Bumrah in the last minute to make the cut.
The series will begin in Galle on August 15 after which India will play the second Test in Colombo from August 23. They will have to win both games to stay alive in the World Test Championship.
