The first batch of Indian cricketers left for Dubai to participate in the ICC Champions Trophy. Several players, including Virat Kohli, all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, and wicketkeeper-batters Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul were seen at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai before leaving for Dubai. Spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy, middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer, all-rounder Axar Patel, and pacers Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh were also part of the travelling squad. Captain Rohit Sharma also joined the squad along with Hardik Pandya.

Head coach Gautam Gambhir and his support staff, including fielding coach T. Dilip, bowling coach Morne Morkel, and assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate also left for Dubai for the showpiece event.

Why India Are Playing Champions Trophy Matches In Dubai?

Pakistan are the host for the ICC Champions Trophy, but India will be playing their matches in Dubai. This is because the BCCI refused to send team India to Pakistan for the event citing security concerns. The BCCI and PCB had month-long negotiations before the PCB agreed to host the tournament in a hybrid model, with India's matches in Dubai.

India Make Key Changes To Champions Trophy Squad

Meanwhile, India made a couple of changes to the Champions Trophy squad. The team named Jasprit Bumrah and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the initial squad, however, Bumrah was ruled out due to injury while Jaiswal was left out for Varun Chakravarthy, who was added to the squad following a great run in the T20I series against England.

India are clubbed in Group A with Pakistan, New Zealand, and Bangladesh. The team will open the campaign against Bangladesh on February 20 before facing Pakistan on February 23. Their last league game against New Zealand will take place on March 2.

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