Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli Spotted at Mumbai Airport as Team India Departs for Champions Trophy in Dubai

The Indian team and support staff departed for Dubai on Saturday, reaching the stage for the much-awaited Champions Trophy. This contingent departed from Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and included key players such as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, the batting mainstays upon whom the team pins much hope in this tournament.

Both were seen at the airport along with other stars of the Indian game, Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, KL Rahul, and Ravindra Jadeja. Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy were also present at the airport.

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India will open their campaign against Bangladesh on February 20 in Dubai, and the team is slowly heading for an amalgam of experienced and relatively new faces.

#WATCH | Mumbai: The first batch of the Indian Cricket team departs for Dubai to participate in the ICC Champions Trophy.

All matches of Team India will be held in Dubai, while the rest will take place in Pakistan. The ICC Champions Trophy will begin on February 19 and will… pic.twitter.com/C4VdRPddyn

— ANI (@ANI) February 15, 2025

Head coach Gautam Gambhir, meanwhile, appeared to be chatting away with support staff members T. Dilip (fielding coach), Morne Morkel (bowling coach), and Ryan ten Doeschate (assistant coach). Team India heads to Dubai on the back of a powerful ODI series performance against England, its 3-0 clean sweep standing testimony.

Bumrah, India's fast-bowling spearhead, was ruled out of the Champions Trophy due to a lower back injury, and replacement Harshit Rana was selected this week into a role requiring poise and steadiness on the big occasion.

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Bumrah picked up his injuries during the fifth and final Test of the series against Australia in Sydney last month when he was due to be bowling in the all-important second innings of the game.

The other controversial change was promising new opening batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal being replaced by Varun Chakravarthy. Some supported this move, saying the spin department needed to be reinforced in consideration of Dubai's conditions. Others, however, felt that India should have bolstered their pace attack instead.

Jaiswal made his ODI debut in the first ODI of the series against England earlier this month but did not get a place in the XI for the other two matches. He was also soon taken off the Champions Trophy squad, with management opting to add a fifth spinner to the 15-member roster.

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