London, 29 July

India head coach Gautam Gambhir said touring England has always been a challenging assignment, but asserted that the quality of cricket in the ongoing series has made "every cricket lover proud.”

Gambhir was addressing a gathering at the India House on Monday evening to express gratitude for the fans’ support during the course of the series, which saw the visitors pull off a dramatic draw in the fourth Test at Manchester.

“Touring this part of the world has always been challenging because of the history between the two countries, which can never be forgotten,” said Gambhir during his speech.

“Whenever we have toured the UK, the kind of support we have got, we cherish every bit of it. We never take anything for granted.

“Last five weeks have been really exciting for both countries with the kind of cricket that has been on display, which I’m sure has made every cricket lover proud,” he added.

The Indian cricket team received a rousing welcome from community leaders, parliamentarians and sports fans at a diaspora reception hosted by the High Commission of India in London, where the squad is set for the fifth and final Test against England at The Oval from Thursday.

He went on to highlight the importance of the fifth and final Test, which India needed to win to level the series that now stands 2-1 in favour of England.

“Both the teams have thrown a lot of punches and have fought for every inch. We have got one more week to go, one final push to make and one more opportunity to make our country and people out here proud,” said Gambhir.

The players were cheered enthusiastically by the crowd as some of the highlights from their recent games were played out on screen.

Vikram Doraiswami, India’s High Commissioner to the UK, said the fighting spirit the team showed during the series was a just reflection of the country’s will to fight the odds.

“It’s been a great series, played in the best of spirit. But the best bit of it all is the fact that we have a chance to see Test cricket played the way it is intended to be – contests for full five days, contests that have gone to the wire, contests in which the great sense of cricket as a game that is played with intensity for five days.

“And to have our team here display what is truly the range of skills but also the fighting spirit that is now associated with Team India is also a great reflection of the fighting spirit that now stands for the new India that we are all privileged to represent here,” said Doraiswami.

“No matter what happens (in the final Test), we couldn’t be more proud of who you (Team India) are, what you represent, where you came from and what you mean to all of us,” he said.

Richard Gould, chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), referenced the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed off during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s UK visit last week as a sign of the immense scope of collaboration between the two nations, including sports.

“In four Test matches so far, every one of them has gone deep into the fifth day…It’s difficult to remember a Test series that has really resounded as deeply as this one has, both in England and back in India, and we are all really looking forward to seeing the battle recommence at The Oval on Thursday,” said Gould.

The diaspora gathering concluded with a brief in-conversation session moderated by commentator and former head coach Ravi Shastri with a few players including captain Shubman Gill.

“Before the start of the series, I felt I haven’t really shown my best and I was working quite hard on my game before the series as I wanted to prove myself,” said Gill, with reference to his over 700 runs notched up during the series so far.

“It was a very hard-fought game of cricket over the past four days,” he added.