'Without our 3 most experienced players': Gautam Gambhir gives inspiring speech to new-look Team India

Gautam Gambhir delivered an inspiring speech to Team India ahead of their first Test against England, urging players to rise in the absence of veterans Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ashwin. The series will mark a new beginning for the team in the World Test Championship cycle. read more
Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir gave a powerful and emotional speech to the players ahead of their first Test match against England. The speech happened during a practice session on Wednesday, and the video was later shared by BCCI on their social media.
Gambhir makes inspiring speech
In the speech, Gambhir addressed the absence of three senior players - Virat Kohli , Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin, who all retired recently. He told the team that this situation can be seen in two ways, either as a setback or as a big opportunity to do something special for the country.
'There are two ways of looking at this. One is that we are without our three most experienced players (Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin), or we have a phenomenal opportunity to do something special for the country. When I look around this group, I think there's hunger, passion, and the commitment to do something special,' Gambhir said.
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'If we make sacrifices, if we come out of our comfort zones, if we start fighting, not every day, but every session, every hour, every ball, I think we can have a memorable tour. Make sure we start that from today only. We start enjoying playing for the country because there's no bigger honour,' Gambhir added.
India are slated to play a five-match Test series against England, starting on 20 June. The first match is scheduled to take place at Headingley, Leeds. This will mark the start of the new cycle of World Test Championship for the Men in Blue. This is the first time India will be playing without all three of their most experienced players.
While Ashwin announced his retirement in the middle of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 series, Rohit and Kohli stepped down just days before the BCCI unveiled the squad for the Test series. Their sudden retirement decision came as a surprise to the world. Kohli and Rohit will continue to play in the ODIs.
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