• Home
  • Cricket News
  • India To Skip Group Travel Players Allowed To Fly Directly To Dubai For Asia Cup Report

India To Skip Group Travel; Players Allowed To Fly Directly To Dubai For Asia Cup: Report

Rajgeeta Yadav

India Team Members Won't Fly Together To Dubai [Source: @BCCI/X.com]India Team Members Won't Fly Together To Dubai [Source: @BCCI/X.com]

Team India is gearing up for the Asia Cup 2025, which will be held in the UAE starting September 9. The 15-member squad, led by Suryakumar Yadav, will gather in Dubai on September 4 to prepare for the tournament. 

This time, instead of following the usual practice of first assembling in Mumbai, the players have been allowed to fly directly to Dubai from their home cities. The BCCI made this change to make travel easier and more convenient for the players. 

Indian Team To Land In Dubai Without Mumbai Stop

A senior BCCI official explained that since Dubai is only a short flight away, it makes little sense for everyone to first gather in Mumbai. The team’s first practice session has been scheduled for September 5 at the ICC Academy once all the players arrive.

"All the players will arrive in Dubai by the evening of September 4, and the first nets session will be held on September 5 at the ICC Academy. Factoring in logistical convenience, the players will be allowed to fly into Dubai from their respective cities," a senior BCCI official told PTI.

"Obviously, a few will travel from Mumbai, but asking some of the others to first come to Mumbai and then fly to Dubai doesn't make sense. In any case, Dubai is a short-duration flight compared to other international flights," he added.

Some of the players chosen for the Asia Cup are currently busy in the domestic Duleep Trophy. Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana are playing for North Zone against East Zone, while Kuldeep Yadav is representing Central Zone against North East Zone. 

On the other hand, standby players Prasidh Krishna and Washington Sundar, who are also participating in the Duleep Trophy, will not be traveling to Dubai with the main squad.

India will begin their Asia Cup campaign against the UAE on September 10. The much-awaited clash against Pakistan is set for September 14 in Dubai, followed by their third group-stage match against Oman on September 19. 

After these games, the top teams will move on to the Super Four stage of the tournament.