Champions Trophy: India Squad Departs for Dubai

February 15, 2025: The first set of Indian players and support staff arrived at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on Saturday, marking the beginning of their journey to Dubai for the upcoming Champions Trophy. India will begin their campaign against Bangladesh on February 20 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Several key players were spotted at the airport, including star batter Virat Kohli, all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, wicketkeeper-batters Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, and spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy. Other members of the squad included middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer, all-rounder Axar Patel, pacers Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh, and skipper Rohit Sharma. Hardik Pandya was the last to join the team before departure.

Head coach Gautam Gambhir, along with fielding coach T. Dilip, bowling coach Morne Morkel, and assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate, were seen accompanying the team as they made final preparations for the tournament.

In a surprising turn, India announced two significant changes to their 15-member squad for the Champions Trophy. Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who had been struggling with a lower back injury, was ruled out of the tournament, with Harshit Rana named as his replacement. The second change, which left fans divided, was the dropping of young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal in favor of Varun Chakravarthy. The decision raised questions, particularly given Jaiswal's promising performance in his ODI debut against England, where he returned figures of 1/54 in 10 overs.

With their preparations in full swing, India will look to make a strong start in the tournament as they aim for glory in the prestigious ICC Champions Trophy.