As India gets ready to take on Australia from October 19, senior stars Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were among the first batch of Indian cricketers who flew off on Wednesday. Indian cricketers, including veterans Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, are looking to get some hits on the ball before the much-anticipated tour kicks off.
India is all set to take on arch-rivals Australia for a three-match ODI series, which kicks off on October 19.
Indian greats Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were joined by Test and ODI skipper Shubman Gill, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, and pacers Arshdeep Singh and Prasidh Krishna, along with some members of the support staff, reported PTI.
The group of players who have already left for Australia made their way into the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the morning, with a handful of adoring fans lining up outside the entrance to catch a glimpse of them.
News agency PTI also reported that head coach Gautam Gambhir and some other members of the coaching staff are expected to leave for Australia later on Wednesday.
Team India is set to play three ODIs starting Sunday; the first ODI between the 2023 World Cup finalists will be played in Perth, followed by Adelaide and Sydney for the 2nd and 3rd ODIs, respectively.
The ODI series between India and Australia will be followed by a five-match T20 International series. As reported by news agency PTI, players who have been included in the T20 team will leave on October 22 tentatively, as the shortest format is set to start on October 29 at Manuka Oval.
While the ODI series has generated significant buzz due to the chatter surrounding the future of Rohit and Kohli, both of whom are now retired from Tests and T20Is, the T20 series is also expected to grab great attention from cricket fans across the globe.
On the other hand, Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir, after the 2-0 Test series sweep over the West Indies in New Delhi, had said that he hoped for the two to have a good outing in the upcoming assignment while being evasive about their 2027 World Cup prospects.
Gautam Gambhir, in the post-match press conference, asserted that “The 50-over World Cup is still two and a half years away. It is very important to stay in the present. Obviously, they are quality players. They are coming back. Their experience is going to be valuable in Australia,” as cited by news agency PTI.
“Hopefully those two guys can have a successful tour, and more importantly, as a team we can have a successful series,” Gambhir said when asked about the future of the two former skippers, “Guatam added.
(With inputs from PTI)