Courtesy: BCCI
The Indian cricket team landed in the city of Dubai, the UAE, on Saturday evening, February 15, to play the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which will begin on February 19 with the opening match between hosts Pakistan and New Zealand. After taking off from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai yesterday afternoon, they arrived at Dubai’s shores following a three-hour flight before being greeted by fans with loud cheers at the UAE airport.
Notably, Pakistan are the official hosts of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, but the Indian cricket team didn’t make the journey to the neighbouring country after the government denied permission to do the same. With that, the ICC approved the hybrid model to organise the Champions Trophy wherein India will play all its group stage matches at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
India are slated to take on Bangladesh in their opening Group A match of the Champions Trophy on February 20 before facing Pakistan and New Zealand on February 23 and March 2. After losing the final of the previous edition of the coveted ICC tournament eight years ago against Pakistan at The Oval in London by a big margin of 180 runs, they will be looking forward to getting the better of their arch-rivals before progressing further into the tournament.
Rishabh Pant turns astrologer of Indian cricket team
In the exclusive video posted by the BCCI on their official X account, the journey of the Indian players from Mumbai to Dubai for taking part in the Champions Trophy was put together. At one stage of the viral clip, star Indian wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant, who is known for his chill attitude, was spotted having a good time with his teammates, asking them about their birthdays before telling them their astrological future in a funny manner from the newspaper.
Watch the video here:
Rishabh Pant also had a hilarious interaction with the Indian captain Rohit Sharma in the latest video shared by the BCCI, and it led to them both having a proper laugh. Moreover, the pressure is firmly on Rohit Sharma, who has struggled recently with the bat and as the leader, to ensure that his side goes on to win back-to-back ICC tournaments, showcasing that he still got what it takes to be the captain of the national team.
