T20 World Cup: Rohit-led Team India arrives in NYC, Kohli to join later

Skipper Rohit Sharma was among the 10 India squad members that landed here on Sunday morning for the T20 Word Cup with Virat Kohli and vice-captain Hardik Pandya being the notable absentees in the first batch of arrivals.

Also part of the travelling party was head coach Rahul Dravid and the rest of the support staff.

Rohit, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel were among the players who arrived here. Reserve players Shubman Gill and Khaleel Ahmed were also with them.

Kohli, who played the IPL Eliminator in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, will link up with the rest of the squad later and likewise for Hardik, who had gone to the UK after the completion of the IPL league stage. In his first year as Mumbai Indians captain, the five-time champions failed to make the play-offs.

As Rajasthan Royals were involved with Qualifier 2 in Chennai on Friday night, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Yuzvendra Chahal and Avesh Khan (reserve) will leave for New York on Monday.

India will play their only World Cup warm-up against Bangladesh at the brand new Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, where they play three leagues games including the blockbuster clash against Pakistan on June 9.

As they play bulk of their league games at the same venue, India would want to make most of the warm-up game and get an idea of the conditions.

The work on the modular stadium with a drop in pitch was completed earlier this month with the construction only starting in January.

India, who have not won an ICC title since 2013, play Ireland in their World Cup opener on June 5.

USA is co-hosting an ICC event for the first time and its national team will also be making its debut in the global competition.

First Published: May 26 2024 | 9:45 PM IST