'Gautam Gambhir Spoke To Us...': India Coach Gives Clear Message To England Curator
The team has established its base at Beckenham, where they are preparing for the series commencing on 20th June.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir requested pitch curator Josh Marden to prepare a surface that replicates the conditions expected throughout the five Tests. Marden accommodated the request and implemented several adjustments.
'Yes, the coaching staff, including Gautam Gambhir and others, spoke to us after their internal meeting," Marden told Revsportz. 'Their message was clear: 'We want a good pitch.' Not something too flat or too green, but something that will genuinely help with match preparation. They wanted more realistic conditions, not just batting drills. So we adjusted a few things, grass cover, net width, length extensions. The feedback has been great since then."
English conditions typically favour swing bowling, placing the spotlight on India's pace attack, spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah who will only play in three Tests during the tour as part of his workload management.
When asked about feedback from Indian bowlers, Marden replied, 'We haven't directly interacted with players like Bumrah, but the coaching staff has passed on detailed feedback."
'From what we've heard, the focus is on overs under the belt and meaningful practice, not just hammering runs. They want result-oriented pitches – surfaces where you get value for good bowling and are punished for errors. And that's exactly what we're trying to give them," he added.
The series will be the first of the next ICC World Test Championship cycle with India, under a new captain, aiming to kickstart their campaign on a positive note.
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