The India senior men’s cricket team, led by opener Rohit Sharma, have departed for Dubai from Mumbai to participate in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy. All Group A matches of the Indian team will be held at the Dubai International Stadium, while the rest of the games will take place in Pakistan. In the Champions Trophy, India will be significantly missing the services of its fast-bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who is recovering from a lower back injury sustained during the fifth Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test in Sydney last month. The two-time Champions Trophy winners, will begin their 2025 campaign against Bangladesh on February 20, before taking on Pakistan in a highly-anticipated clash on February 23. India will play their final Group A match against New Zealand on March 2, with the final match of the tournament to be played on March 25. The team was initially going to leave in batches of two for Dubai, but with the BCCI policy guidelines issued last month saying that the team will travel together for its abroad tours, it was decided for the side to leave together for the eight-team competition from Mumbai.
