Asia Cup 2025: The India National Cricket Team is all set to shake things up ahead of the Asia Cup 2025, which kicks off on September 9 in the UAE. The 15-member squad, led by Suryakumar Yadav, is currently training hard in Bengaluru as they gear up for the big tournament.
India will begin their campaign on September 10 against the UAE in Dubai, and the team is expected to land there by September 4. Almost every player has cleared the fitness tests at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence, so the squad looks well-prepared for the challenge ahead.
A break from tradition: Players to fly directly to Dubai for Asia Cup 2025
This time, Team India is taking a different approach. Traditionally, all players first assemble in Mumbai before flying out together on the same flight. But for the Asia Cup 2025, the BCCI has decided to let players travel straight from their home cities to Dubai.
The idea is to make things smoother and cut down on unnecessary travel. The only condition is that all 15 players must reach Dubai by the evening of September 4. Their first training session is already scheduled for September 5 at the ICC Academy, giving them a couple of days to get used to conditions and fine-tune their game before the tournament starts.
A senior BCCI official told PTI, “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 the logistical convenience, the players will be allowed to fly into Dubai from their respective cities.”
The official added, “Obviously, a few will travel from Mumbai, but to ask 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.”
There’s also another angle here – BCCI may want to avoid the media frenzy in Mumbai, especially with the hype and controversy surrounding the much-awaited India vs. Pakistan clash in the tournament. With so much noise from fans, ex-cricketers, and even politicians, it seems the board wants the players to stay focused and avoid distractions.
Warm-up through the Duleep Trophy
India will open their Asia Cup journey against the UAE on September 10, before the big game against Pakistan on September 14 in Dubai. Their last group-stage match will be against Oman on September 19.
Meanwhile, some of the Asia Cup 2025 squad members are already getting match practice in the ongoing Duleep Trophy. Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana are currently playing for North Zone against East Zone in the quarterfinals, while Kuldeep Yadav is turning out for Central Zone against North East Zone.
The BCCI also confirmed that standby players Prasidh Krishna and Washington Sundar won’t be travelling with the team as net bowlers.
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