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."
The 43-year-old then patted Gill and his deputy Rishabh Pant.
"I want to congratulate Shubman as well, captain for the first time. There is no bigger honour than leading your country's Test team. Congratulations. Rishabh Pant as well, who is part of the leadership group now," he noted.
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.
"Comebacks are never easy, someone who has made a comeback after seven years, had a phenomenal last year.
"The amount of runs that you have got, and most importantly that never say die attitude, which is something that got you back into the team, and that is something inspiring for everyone in this group. Welcome Karun Nair,†said Gambhir.
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, once I go out there but right now I can't express them,†said Karun.
Put ourselves under pressure at nets: Gill
Skipper Gill urged his colleagues to put themselves under a bit of pressure so that they will not be overwhelmed by situations when the series starts.
“Let's make each and every net session meaningful. Let's put ourselves under a little pressure. When we are going out there, it's not about going out there and just surviving, let's find out our game, how we are going to play when we are put under pressure — be it bowlers or batters,†he said.
