The first batch of Indian players, including skipper Rohit Sharma, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and number one ranked T20I batter Suryakumar Yadav, left for the United States on Saturday ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup, starting June 1.
Besides skipper Rohit, Bumrah and Suryakumar, head coach Rahul Dravid, batting coach Vikram Rathour, all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Shivam Dube, pacers Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel, Shubman were also captured at Mumbai airport.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Yuzvendra Chahal, whose IPL campaign ended with Rajasthan Royals' defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday, Kolkata Knight Riders batter Rinku Singh, who is playing the IPL final against SRH on Sunday at Chennai, and star batter Virat Kohli, whose team, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, lost to RR in the Eliminator on Friday, have not joined the squad yet.
India's T20 World Cup campaign begins on June 5 against Ireland, at the newly-constructed Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York. India play Pakistan on June 9.
They will later play tournament co-hosts USA (June 12) and Canada (June 15) to wrap up their Group A matches.
India will be aiming to end their ICC trophy drought, having last won the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013.
India won the inaugural edition of the tournament back in 2007 in South Africa.
In the last edition held in Australia in 2022, India lost to England by 10 wickets in the semi-finals.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed. Siraj
Reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan.
