The Indian cricket team is currently training at Eden Gardens in Kolkata ahead of the first Test against South Africa on November 14. During preparations, head coach Gautam Gambhir shared insights into the current atmosphere in the Indian dressing room and commented on the team’s T20 World Cup readiness, noting that India has not yet reached their desired level of performance.

Since Gambhir took over as coach, India has remained unbeaten in T20 series and also clinched the Asia Cup, including a 2-1 T20 series win over Australia. The next major challenge for the team is the T20 World Cup scheduled for February.

Ahead of the Test series, BCCI released a short video clip of Gambhir’s interview, highlighting his statements about the team.

"It has been a very transparent dressing room, it has been a very honest dressing room and that is how we want this dressing room to be. I think we still aren't where we want to be come the T20 World Cup," Gambhir said in the 46-second clip.

𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐲. 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲. 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 🫡

Get inside the mind of #TeamIndia Head Coach @GautamGambhir as he shares his vision in 𝘾𝙤𝙖𝙘𝙝’𝙨 𝘾𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙧. 🙌

Stay tuned for the full exclusive interview ⏳🔜 pic.twitter.com/nmvG9x2YUW

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 10, 2025

"Hopefully guys know the importance of being fit. We still have three months to be where we want to be," he added.

The upcoming T20 World Cup is set to take place in India and Sri Lanka during February and March next year, with India entering the tournament as the defending champions.

South Africa is touring India for the 8th time to play a Test series. In the previous seven visits, India has won four series, South Africa has won once, and two series ended in draws.

Overall Test Record (IND vs SA)

Total matches: 44

India wins: 18

South Africa wins: 16

Draws: 10

After the Test series, the teams will compete in a 3-match ODI series, followed by a 5-match T20I series. The T20I series is scheduled to start on December 9 and conclude on December 19.