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As India gears up for the high-stakes Test series against England starting Friday at Headingley in Leeds, newly appointed Test captain Shubman Gill stressed the importance of taking 20 wickets to secure victory in the traditional format.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Gill acknowledged that while runs remain vital, it's the bowlers who often determine the result in red-ball cricket. "Yes, definitely in Test matches, if you want to win a Test match, you can't win a Test match without taking 20 wickets no matter how many runs you score," Gill said. "That has been one of our key discussion points, how we will take 20 wickets," he added. The Indian think tank is also considering a balanced approach in their playing XI, according to Gill. "There might be a case where we go with six pure batters, and you will see a bowling all-rounder and three-four premier fast bowlers," he noted. India will hope to start the series strongly, with their bowlers playing a pivotal role in countering the English challenge under unfamiliar yet intriguing conditions. With conditions expected to be slightly different from typical English summers, Gill revealed that the team is carefully assessing their playing combination. "This summer has been a little bit different to the other English summers. It's been a little bit dry, so I was just waiting to see the wicket one last time to decide the final combinations," the captain said. India tour of England will take place from June 20 to August 4 with matches to be played at Headingley (Leeds), Edgbaston (Birmingham), Lord's (London), Old Trafford (Manchester), and The Oval (London). A new era beckons for India in the Test format as the modern-day giants gear up for their first assignment without the prized batting bigwigs Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Shubman Gill, India's youngest Test captain, has taken the baton from Rohit to guide the nation to success and challenge for the World Test Championship mace. India's squad: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana. England Playing XI for the 1st Test against India: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (C), Jamie Smith (WK), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir. (ANI)
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