Team India will fly directly from their home cities to Dubai for the Asia Cup 2025, breaking a long-held BCCI tradition.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has made a big change to Team India’s travel plans for the Asia Cup 2025. For the first time in years, Indian players will not gather in Mumbai before leaving for the tournament.
Instead, each player will fly straight from their home city to Dubai. The move aims to reduce travel stress and also avoid media pressure in Mumbai, especially ahead of the high-voltage India-Pakistan clash.
The Asia Cup 2025 will begin on September 9 in the UAE. Suryakumar Yadav will lead the 15-member Indian squad. The team’s campaign starts on September 10 against the UAE in Dubai. Players will land in Dubai by September 4 and start practice the very next day at the ICC Academy.
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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.”
Until now, players had to assemble in Mumbai first before boarding a common flight. This system allowed the squad to travel together as a unit. But this year, BCCI has decided to end that tradition.
The BCCI official explained, “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 board also wants to keep the team away from the media spotlight in Mumbai. With the India-Pakistan clash set for September 14, emotions are already high among fans, former players, and politicians. The board feels that avoiding a media rush will help the squad stay focused.
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India’s first game is against the UAE on September 10. The second and most awaited game is against Pakistan on September 14, also in Dubai. The Men in Blue will then play Oman on September 19 in their last group-stage match.
Ahead of the Asia Cup, some players are already in action at the Duleep Trophy 2025. Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana are representing North Zone, while Kuldeep Yadav is playing for Central Zone. This helps them stay in rhythm before the big tournament.
Standby players Prasidh Krishna and Washington Sundar will not travel with the team as net bowlers, the BCCI confirmed.
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