India men’s cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir is back in Leeds (England) and linked up with the squad ahead of the first Test that starts from Friday. Gambhir had returned to India last week after his mother was reportedly hospitalised due to health complications. Gambhir left right before an intra-squad match in Beckenham and in his absence, assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate took the charge. The tour is crucial for Gambhir whose coaching stint is off to a mixed start. While under him, India won the Champions Trophy earlier this year, it also has seen them not qualifying for the final of the World Test Championship for the first time in three cycles. India lost five of their last eight Tests including a historic clean sweep at the hands of New Zealand at home last year to crash out from WTC final contention. Under a new captain in Shubman Gill, the series will be the beginning of a new era in Test cricket for India with the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin retiring from the format in the last few months. Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is now one of the senior members of this young side and is now part of the leadership group alongside Gill having been named as his deputy. On Wednesday, Pant talked about his camaraderie with the India skipper and how it will impact how the two gel on the field. “I think me and Shubman have a really good camaraderie off the field. If you’re good friends off the field, it eventually comes on the field as well. That is something I’ve always believed. Me and him, we gel really well together. We keep on having conversations and the kind of comfort zone we have with each other, I think that is really going to be special for us,” Pant told reporters. The first Test starts from June 20 in Leeds.