India captain grateful for extra preparation time ahead of Test series in Sri Lanka

The tourists will have had 10 days in Sri Lanka ahead of the first Test starting in Galle on Saturday, including playing a three-day tour match in Colombo.

A ten-day build-up for the two-match series is unheard of in modern times with a packed schedule, especially for India, but Gill is grateful they have time to adapt.

"It's never easy for the players to be able to adapt, and most of the players in this team I think require a bit of time to be able to adjust to the conditions," Gill said.

"It is not like a lot of the players have a lot of matches or a lot of experience under their belt, so the extra time in preparation definitely helps."

Gill will not have the option of calling on kingpin fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah for the series due to a knee injury, but the touring skipper has called on the rest of the attack to step up.

"Bumrah is not there, but I think it is a really good opportunity for some of the other bowlers to really step up and leave a mark on the series," Gill said. "You have to keep trying different things to be able to take wickets.

"You have to create opportunities, especially on day 1 and day 2. There could be a chance that there is not much happening from the wickets. So how can you create pressure? How can you not let the game slip away too much from you? Having those kinds of creative fields is important."

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