Gambhir's return due to family emergency not first such incident: Last year, a veteran India cricketer faced same fate
Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir has returned home midway from the England tour due to a family emergency. Gambhir took the flight back to India ahead of the intra-squad warm-up match to attend to his mother, who has been admitted to the hospital. The head coach accompanied the Indian team to England for the five-Test series starting June 20 and was involved in training sessions ahead of the warm-up matches, but a sudden family emergency forced him to return home.
In Gambhir's absence, assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate will take charge of the team during the four-day intra-squad match between India and India A, starting on Friday.
Sources within the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed to Hindustan Times that Gambhir is indeed back in the country and is spending time with his family.
'Gambhir had to return to India because of a family emergency. He left for India on Wednesday. Our prayers are with his family,' a source said.
"As of now, his exact date of arrival in the UK is not certain and it all depends on his mother's recovery. If everything goes well, he should be back for the first Test in Headingley," the source added.
Gambhir's mother is currently receiving treatment in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a hospital in Delhi after experiencing a cardiac arrest. His return to England will depend on her condition as it evolves.
Meanwhile, it is not the first time that a member of the Indian team left a series midway due to a family emergency in recent times. It happened with recently-retired spinner Ravichandran Ashwin when India was playing England in a Test series at home in 2024. Ashwin rushed back to his home in Chennai in the middle of the third Test against England in Rajkot after learning that his mother had been hospitalised due to a blackout, forcing him to leave the team temporarily to be by her side.
"When I landed and got to the hospital, my mom was slipping in and out of consciousness, and the first thing she asked me was, 'Why did you come?' The next time she was conscious, she said, "I think you should go back because the Test match is happening," Ashwin told 'ESPNCricinfo' as he returned to the Indian team after his mother was stable.
Earlier this year, India's bowling coach Morne Morkel was forced to make an abrupt departure from Dubai during the Champions Trophy, following a family emergency. Morkel flew back to South Africa on February 17, after receiving the news of his father Alberts' passing. His departure comes at a crucial moment, just days ahead of India's opening match against Bangladesh in the 2025 Champions Trophy. He later rejoined the Indian team in Dubai ahead of the side's final Group A match in Champions Trophy against New Zealand.
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