Our main goal is to play the World Test Championship final: Shubman Gill

India captain Shubman Gill made his priorities clear at a pre-series press conference in Galle on August 14, 2026, the day before the first Test against Sri Lanka. He spoke about the team's direction, the challenge of adapting to conditions and what the two-match series means for India's standing in the World Test Championship.

The BCCI shared a clip of the pre-match press conference where Gill addressed the media to answer the reporters' queries ahead of the first Test in Galle. Gill spoke about the squad's progress and the significance of the Sri Lanka series for India's WTC campaign.

"I am very comfortable with the role, and I think the kind of way we have been progressing in the past one year has been very pleasing to see from my perspective. I think we are taking all the right steps in the right direction. Obviously, the main goal is to play the World Test Championship final, which is next year.

"We have got about nine Tests and we have to win around six or seven to be able to have a good chance at qualifying. So in terms of that, I think this is a very important series for us, and we have had the right kind of preparation leading up to the series," Gill said at the press conference.

🗣️ The main goal is to play the World Test Championship Final#TeamIndia captain Shubman Gill talks about the progress of the team and the importance of the Sri Lanka Test series.#SLvIND | @ShubmanGill

The Indian skipper, who took the position for the first time in June 2025, also reflected on the occasion itself.

"It is a huge honour to lead the side in the 600th Test match and also on a day when the country is celebrating its Independence Day," Gill added.

India enter the series placed fifth in the WTC standings. Home defeats to New Zealand and South Africa have left them behind Bangladesh in the table, making the two Tests in Sri Lanka a significant part of their qualification push.

The series opens at Galle on August 15, 2026, with the second Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo from August 23, 2026. This is Gill's first Test assignment in Sri Lanka as captain, having made his leadership debut in England earlier in the cycle.

Gill heads into the series as India's leading run-scorer in WTC history, with 2,843 runs in 40 Tests at an average of 43.07, including 10 hundreds and 8 fifties. He requires 157 more runs to become the first Indian batter to reach 3,000 WTC runs across all cycles.

In the WTC 2025-27 cycle alone, Gill has accumulated 950 runs in 8 Tests at an average of 79.16, with 5 hundreds, 1 fifty and a best of 269. He sits third among all run-scorers in the current cycle, behind England's Joe Root, who leads with 1,108 runs in 13 Tests, and Harry Brook, who has 1,056 runs in 13 Tests.

Fifty more runs in this series would take Gill to 1,000 runs in the WTC 2025-27 cycle, which would make him the fourth Indian batter to reach that mark in a single cycle, after Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Rishabh Pant is second among Indian WTC run-scorers overall with 2,780 runs in 40 Tests at an average of 41.49.

Gill did pick up a finger injury during slip practice before the warm-up match against Sri Lanka Cricket XI in Colombo, but he returned to bat in the second innings, scoring 44 off 54 balls as India chased down 207. The first Test at Galle begins on August 15, 2026.