India are very optimistic about qualifying for the Test Championship final: Gautam Gambhir

Head coach Gautam Gambhir has expressed confidence that India will push for a place in the World Test Championship final despite a difficult start to the ongoing cycle. On the eve of the one-off Test against Afghanistan in New Chandigarh, Gambhir told reporters that there was immense belief in the dressing room that the team could go on and win the title.

India failed to qualify for the World Cup finals for the first time in three editions last year. They were knocked out of the race by a 1-3 defeat in Australia, which preceded an unprecedented home whitewash against New Zealand in 2024. In the new cycle, India were held to a 2-2 draw in England, with Gambhir overseeing a transition period following the retirements of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and R Ashwin from Test cricket. However, they were impressed by the visiting South African sidewho claimed a 2-0 series win last year.

“Very optimistic. We’re always optimistic. As long as you don’t have a chance to qualify for the finals, we’re always optimistic. We know the kind of talent we have. I don’t think there’s any reason not to believe we can’t win the Test World Cup. It’s not just me, but everyone in the dressing room believes. We might have the odd bad run here and there, but we know how much talent we have in the dressing room,” he said. he said.

India have won only four of their nine Tests in the ongoing cycle and they walk in sixth place in the WTC table. They face a tough run, starting with a two-Test series in Sri Lanka in August before traveling to New Zealand for another two-Test series in November. The race for the finals will intensify when India host Australia in the much-anticipated five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in January and February next year.

India’s upcoming one-off Test against Afghanistan will not be part of the Test World Cup cycle, but Gambhir stressed that the team will be at full strength to ensure continuity.

“Again, a Test match is a Test match. I know people may say it’s not part of the Test World Cup cycle, but for me it’s still a Test match that we have to win and win for the country,” he said.

“You don’t differentiate between Test matches, whether they are part of the World Test Championship or not. That’s one of the reasons why we will try to play our full strength in this Test match as well.”

India will be led by Shubman Gill while KL Rahul will serve as vice-captain for the one-off assignment. Senior players including Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja have been rested. Mohammed Siraj is likely to lead the pace attack while India have included Manav Suthar and Harsh Dubey as spin options alongside Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar.

On Friday, Gambhir all but confirmed that Sai Sudharsan would continue to bat at No.3 even as the selectors picked the in-form Devdutt Padikkal in the 15-man squad that has been training in New Chandigarh for the past few days.

IS INDIA STILL IN TRANSITION?

Meanwhile, Gambhir stressed that the team remains in a transition phase and insisted that player availability issues, whether due to injuries or workload management, would not derail India’s bid for a place in the World Test Championship final.

“It was only nine Test matches,” he said, pointing out that only half of the ongoing cycle had been completed.

“We were great in England and then we won against the West Indies. So when people talk about the transition, the real transition came after England.”

“If after nine Tests people feel it’s been a long journey, I don’t agree. We all know how well this young team played in England. Then we won against the West Indies. We had two Tests against South Africa and yes, it hurt.”

“But that will be the transition. The consistency may not always be there because these are young guys. Most of them have played less than 30 Test matches, which is still not a lot of experience.”

“For me, I don’t look at it negatively. Even though we haven’t always had our starting XI, I think we have enough talent to turn it around.”

“I am very hopeful that we will give ourselves the best possible chance to win the World Test Championship.”

The one-off Test will begin at 9:30 IST, with the draw scheduled for 9:00 AM

– The end

Issued by:

Akshay Ramesh

Published on:

05 Jun 2026 14:55 IST