The 15-member Indian squad, captained by Suryakumar Yadav, will convene in Dubai on September 4 for the Asia Cup, commencing on September 9.
In a break from tradition, players will arrive in Dubai progressively from their respective locations, rather than assembling in Mumbai before departure as previously done.
This decision was made considering logistics and the players’ travel convenience.
“All the players will arrive in Dubai by September 4 evening 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 in to Dubai from their respective cities,” a senior BCCI official was quoted as saying by PTI on conditions of anonymity.
“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,” the source added.
India will face the UAE in their opening match on September 10 before playing against arch-rivals Pakistan in Dubai on September 14. Their third group match against Oman will be on September 19, followed by the Super Four stage.
Among the Asia Cup-bound cricketers, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana are playing for North Zone against East Zone in the Duleep Trophy quarterfinals, which started on Thursday, while Kuldeep Yadav is playing for Central Zone against North East Zone.
The official confirmed that Prasidh Krishna and Washington Sundar, who are among the standbys, would not be travelling with the main squad as net bowlers.
